Angus Gordon, of Drumhead House, Finzean, is heading for St Helena, in the south Atlantic, to cover for another dentist who is going on holiday.

Angus will fly out of RAF Brize Norton Oxford on July 7 to Ascension Island, where he will spend four days until his ship arrives. From there, he will take the Royal Mail Ship St Helena to the island itself, arriving there on July 16. With no airport or commercial flights and ship the only means of travel, Angus is expecting a long journey.

RMS St Helena is one of only two ocean-going vessels in the world still to carry the title Royal Mail Ship. In addition to carrying passengers, it is almost the sole source of supply of all goods for its island namesake. From wind turbines to automotive parts; sheep, goats, and Christmas turkeys to furniture, food and paint, everything has to be carried by ship to the island.

Angus previously visited the island, a UK territory, twice in 2007 doing similar work - the first time for almost three months and the second time for two-and-a-half months. This time he will remain there for seven weeks before returning to the UK mid-September.

Angus will work from the Island's 50-bed hospital, where there are normally four other doctors. He will be working under a health scheme financed by the UK's Department of International Development and managed by the St Helena Government.

"I contacted them and asked them if anything was going on and they said they'd like me to come out as they had a space," said Angus, who will stay in a fully-furnished and equipped house whilst on the island. "The dentist I am covering for is South African and he's going on holiday for two months. They take all their holidays at one time because it takes so long to get to and from the island, it's not worth going for less than that.

"There is a big diabetes problem there that produces a lot of dental health problems as well. A lot of the children have major problems with a lack of dental hygiene."

Angus will work from around 8.30am to 3.30/4pm but will be on call seven-days-a-week.

"They are pretty well-equipped on the island," he said. "Since the last time I was there, they've re-equipped everything again. But if they run out of anything, everything grinds to a halt as it all comes from the UK and it can sometimes be a six-month wait. Primary care is good on St Helena and this is something they have been pushing on the island for the last 10 years.

"The last time I was there, the ship broke down and I was stranded, because there is no other way to get off the island. I managed to get back on a cruise ship, but they don't stop there very often. If the ship is delayed, any islander waiting for surgery or chemotherapy or other treatment just has to sit and wait until the boat comes. It can sometimes be a couple of days late but was eight or nine days late on that occasion.

"In the two times I have been, I've never seen another ship on the horizon, other than the odd local fishing boat.

"There are no planes flying overhead as it's not on any flight path. If the ship doesn't come in on time, the supermarket runs out of supplies and within days of the ship coming in, the shelves are bare again.
"Eggs are brought in from Namibia and there's no fresh milk - it all comes in pasteurised from Cape Town - they really are dependent on the ship for pretty much everything."

He said on St Helena, a good wage to earn is around £55 per week and the shipping company is the biggest employer, along with a tuna canning factory and the local government.

Angus said tourists usually visited St Helena for a specific reason - its remoteness or to study the insects and bugs living on the island.
"I am looking forward to going back but I wouldn't want to stay there permanently," he confessed.

He said he would be keeping in contact with the world through the internet, as the island had recently got broadband.