Tag: travel

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Total meltdown as new Scilly Islands ferry service launch is delayed for second time

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From Cornwall News today: Another delay for new Isles of Scilly ferry service launch as boss quits. It looks like a total meltdown as it’s the second time the start up of the new company’s new crossings have been postponed within only a few hours. A planned new ferry service to the Isles of Scilly has hit choppy waters as its boss quit and it has now postponed its launch by over a week. The first Scilly Ferries crossing from Penzance was due to take place on Monday (July 22) but, as reported by CornwallLive was earlier today postponed to the … Continue reading Total meltdown as new Scilly Islands ferry service launch is delayed for second time

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New Zealand ferry runs aground after button is ‘inadvertently pressed’ by crew member denying he had left the bridge for coffee

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From 1News today: Interislander ferry Aratere ran aground after a button was “inadvertently pressed”, sending the vessel off-course, according to an internal safety bulletin obtained by 1News. According to the bulletin, dated July 5, the bridge crew had switched the Aratere from hand steering to autopilot as it passed Mabel Island when an “execute button was inadvertently pressed” at 9.26pm. This led the vessel to “commence an alteration of course” by around 1 nautical mile earlier than planned. The bridge team attempted to switch back to hand steering mode but was unable to override the autopilot in time. Hewlett denied … Continue reading New Zealand ferry runs aground after button is ‘inadvertently pressed’ by crew member denying he had left the bridge for coffee

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CalMac ferries don’t drift toward rocks, hit harbour wall or run aground – what’s a senior news reporter to do?

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By Professor John Robertson, International Ferry Correspondent of the Year In the Herald, above, yesterday. The same story by STV this morning: And the Business Insider had just – Ferry operator extends ‘invaluable’ vessel’s charter for six months How media with an agenda try to create a reality for you to suit their purpose. It’s not really a fiasco is it? Here’s a fiasco: Drifts nearly onto the rocks, hits the harbour wall and now runs aground – New Zealand’s real ferry crisis By our International Ferry Correspondent In January 2023: Stricken Cook Strait ferry the Kaitaki drifted more than a … Continue reading CalMac ferries don’t drift toward rocks, hit harbour wall or run aground – what’s a senior news reporter to do?

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Patient safety – NHS Scotland has ‘top pillar’ safety programme and all of our hospitals are safe unlike in some other places

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By Professor John Robertson The Herald today has a scare story about Glasgow Royal but with, of course, little informative value. First, from the Westminster (UK Parliament) Health Committee, in January 2022: The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), introduced by the SNP Scottish Government in 2007, has been praised by a leading European expert on patient safety. In Westminster’s Health Committee, Dr Pelle Gustafson, CMO at Swedish Patient Insurer, responded with “Scotland”, when he was asked which country he would hold at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety.  Dr Gustfason said: “If you take all preventative work in regard … Continue reading Patient safety – NHS Scotland has ‘top pillar’ safety programme and all of our hospitals are safe unlike in some other places

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NHS Scotland staffed and equipped to do more than 98% of planned operations on time despite steadily increasing demand

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By Professor John Robertson From Public Health Scotland on 2nd July 2024: During May 2024, there were 25,657 operations planned to take place across NHSScotland. This is 6.4% higher than the number planned a year previously in May 2023 (24,125). • The number of planned operations has been steadily increasing since pandemic restrictions first affected provision of services in March 2020. In the 12 months from April 2023 to May 2024, there was an 8% increase in the number of planned operations compared to the previous 12 months. This compares to a 15.3% year-on-year increase when comparing year ending May … Continue reading NHS Scotland staffed and equipped to do more than 98% of planned operations on time despite steadily increasing demand

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Channel Islands foreign ferry crew cannot speak and steer well enough to avoid killing fishermen or hit a harbour wall but CalMac crew can do this

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Two days ago: A Ukrainian national working for Condor Ferries was charged with three counts of manslaughter following a collision between a Condor Ferry and a fishing trawler off Jersey’s north west coast [in December 2022]. Artur Sevash-Zade, a Ukrainian national, was arrested in the UK and brought to Jersey to appear at the island’s Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 3 July. An intrepreter was present and translated for Mr Sevash-Zade who did not speak throughout the hearing. The court heard that he works at sea and has no fixed address in either the UK or Jersey. So, unable to speak English well … Continue reading Channel Islands foreign ferry crew cannot speak and steer well enough to avoid killing fishermen or hit a harbour wall but CalMac crew can do this

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UK Labour funded by the rich and US corporations have always let our children die on foreign fields from Korea and Malaysia to Iraq and Afghanistan only to test their new weapons. Vote for them again and begin down a new path to your grandchildren dying for nothing in foreign fields

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I hope the headline is message enough but may a song or two will push things further in: And, if you need some numbers: By Professor John Robertson In May 2020, after reading new research on Scotland’s share of UK war dead, I was able to write this: ‘Yet while the war dead of some countries were too numerous to count, we should be mindful that ‘Scotland is small enough to know all her sons by heart’ My headline comes from the conclusions to a thorough examination of the facts published in May 2019. I missed it at the time and, … Continue reading UK Labour funded by the rich and US corporations have always let our children die on foreign fields from Korea and Malaysia to Iraq and Afghanistan only to test their new weapons. Vote for them again and begin down a new path to your grandchildren dying for nothing in foreign fields

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Now that’s what I call a f****** ferry fiasco as New Zealand’s Tories ‘rat-f***’ their own ferry company

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Regular readers may remember that New Zealand’s state-owned lifeline Cook Strait Ferries have been drifting toward rocks with hundreds on board, running into harbours and stranding passengers on the wrong harbour with their elderly vessels, on average 10 years older than out CalMac boats.. The outgoing Labour government oversaw a contract for two new ferries ballooning to $2 billion and the incoming National (conservative) government completely cancelled the deal with a $3 million penalty to the Korean builders, putting the Ferguson Marine delays and over-runs into perspective. Tomorrow in the NZ Daily blog: Let’s get this completely straight. KiwiRail negotiates … Continue reading Now that’s what I call a f****** ferry fiasco as New Zealand’s Tories ‘rat-f***’ their own ferry company

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CalMac ferry cancellations due to technical faults at only 2% to confirm status as best, 98% reliable, safest and cheapest for passengers, ferry service in the world

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The Herald today is platforming a Conservatives freedom of information figure of 3 215 CalMac ferry crossings cancelled due to technical problems in the first nine months of 2023, under the headline – CalMac ferry cancellations a ‘shocking betrayal’ of islanders. WTF just the first nine months? CalMac makes around 400 to 500 crossings every day of the year. Let’s go with the lower figure. That’s around 150 000 per year. The 3 215 make up only 2.14%. Any other cancellations are due to dangerous weather. CalMac has never lost a passenger, never mind a ferry, due to mistakes of … Continue reading CalMac ferry cancellations due to technical faults at only 2% to confirm status as best, 98% reliable, safest and cheapest for passengers, ferry service in the world

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In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours

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By stewartb Latest update for the Labour politicians in Scotland who constantly berate the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland on A&E waiting times: Latest on waits in the main A&E departments in the NHS in Wales – from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (https://rcem.ac.uk/summer-provides-no-respite-for-over-stretched-emergency-departments/ ) 1) ’44.1% of patients (more than 2/5) waited four hours or longer (up 10.6% on April 2024)’ – so just 58.6% discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The RCEM reports ‘the number of patients having to wait more than four hours has almost doubled since 2017’. 2) ’23.2% (more than 1/5) of people waited … Continue reading In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours