Due to the rise of cruise holidays, the number of companies active in the industry, the constantly increasing competition and the large number of travellers, most cruise lines include several medical facilities on board. Moreover, many national and international organizations have been giving guidelines concerning the medical facilities a ship should include.

For example, the American College of Emergency Physicians published some guidelines for cruise ship medical facilities. These guidelines, as mentioned in their website, are:

“The cruise ship industry and its medical departments should retain medical personnel who can:

• Provide quality maritime medical care for passengers and crew members aboard cruise ships;
• Initiate appropriate stabilization, diagnostic, and therapeutic maneuvers for critically ill or medically unstable patients;
• Support, comfort, and care for patients on board ship; and
• Assist, in conjunction with the cruise line, in the medical evacuation of patients in a timely fashion when appropriate.”

In general, in every cruise ship you must be able to find:

• At least one doctor and two nurses at all times.
• First aid essentials’ such as painkillers up for sale.
• Many ships may offer sophisticated equipment such as x-ray machines and  and cardio monitors to diagnose a range of conditions.
• Quarantine measures for a potential infectious outbreak, such as potential COVID-19 case on board.

International Medical Wave equip any cruise ship with all the essential medical facilities of the best possible quality, while constantly supporting the crew on any incident that occurs.