Cancer patient has potential transfusion problems as sources claim SNP could have saved the inter-island service but sat on their hands

A patient with cancer on Barra may not get blood for her transfusions at the right temperature because of the decision to axe the inter-island flights, it has been claimed.

Angus MacNeil MP has now written to council leader Angus Campbell asking him to look urgently into reversing, due to new emerging health issues, the damaging decisions taken to axe inter island flights.

Meanwhile, claims have emerged that the service subsidy was axed because – under the council scoring system – the refusal by SNP councillors to take part in the process meant there were too few points to keep it.

The MP is urging him to restore the service from Stornoway to Benbecula to five days a week, with two services each day and then to ensure that the smaller communities and more distant from the main services are also treated fairly by restoring the Barra to Benbecula link.

The council is the only body in the islands that receives public money from the Government for Air Transport services, says Mr Macneil.

He said that with the council damaging its own reputation, surely in quieter moments they are regretting savagely axing the inter-island flights which, he said, was the biggest blow to island transportation in 40 years.

“The idea that a flight three days a week between Benbecula and Stornoway is adequate would not even be considered by the most aloof civil servant in Edinburgh which make the Comhairle’s position all the more ridiculous. Therefore, I would urge the Comhairle to get the Stornoway Benbecula service up to five days as soon as possible and follow suit with the Benbecula to Barra service. Everybody deserves a right to fairness regardless of where they live in the islands.

“I have been spoken to by a cancer patient in Barra, Margaret Currie, who tells me that blood she might need for transfusions might not arrive on Barra within its ambient temperature, due to the time taken to transport it, which means that in a weakened state, Mrs Currie, due to decisions by the Comhairle, would have to travel for blood.

Now I know that the Comhairle didn’t mean this to happen and probably didn’t consider it would happen, which is exactly the point. This was a hasty and ill-judged decision by the Comhairle based on one voting round with only a few weeks’ notice. At the moment, blood which requires complex screening processes can only come three days a week.

It is now being claimed that the axe fell because the SNP councillors failed to indicate the level of savings they wanted. A source said: “If the SNP group had indicated the savings they wanted, there would have been enough points to secure the air service.
“This needs to be explained to the public. If they want to know who is responsible, I suggest they ask the SNP group of members why they refused to take part and use their power to keep the service.

“The public hand-wringing and the blame shifting by the SNP now shows they are deceiving the public. They must admit it is only their fault.”

Meanwhile, the MP is writing to health secreary Alex Neil to perhaps build a link for blood with Glasgow because he says there are real difficulties for patients and medical staff now that the inter-island transport links have been broken by the Comhairle.

Cllr Donald Manford of Barra added: “In light of this, the Comhairle who received money for transportation and have walked from the responsibility, have to think again. Health and social issues seemed to have been of little concern in the bean counting exercise.”

Comhairle orders SNP air link petition to be ripped off the walls

With the SNP in meltdown over finding words that make grammatical sense to pretend to islanders that it is sort of wanting to save the unloved Barra / Benbecula air link – but not really because deep down they actually now know the money would be better spent elsewhere – the comhairle itself has been its usual fair and rational self in the matter.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the SNP group’s secret rewriting of the petition wording (see previous post), you would think the comhairle would play a straight bat. I have been sent this fascinating note and exchange of correspondence with the Chief Executive. Sorry, I do not have the permission of the first writer to name him.

“Yesterday I was contacted by a concerned member of the public with regard to a public petition in support of the Barra – Benbecula and Benbecula – Stornoway flights being removed from the council offices at the request of one of our esteemed councillors. I emailed Malcolm Burr the CNES Chief Executive the following letter.

Dear Mr Burr,

Following the voting fiasco of the local Southern Isles Councillors on the Benbecula to Barra route, we, as local businesses and individuals have raised a petition that the Comhairle maintains its support for the lifeline services between Barra, Benbecula and Stornoway. We have distributed the petition throughout the islands within businesses and public buildings for the general population to either sign or ignore as is their right. This afternoon one of the local councillors who voted against the flights arrived at the council offices in Benbecula and preceded to note each individuals name that had signed the petition and then had the petition removed, via, i am led to believe, yourself.
Can i please get some clarification as to why the petition was removed from a public building and if indeed Councillor ??????? has actually broken the law by removing it?

I look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience.

Kindest regards

This afternoon came the following reply.

Dear Mr XXXXXX

Thank you for your email yesterday on the matter of display of this petition.

“The Comhairle generally adopts the practice that it does not display or assist with petitions on matters of political controversy unless, of course, the subject matter of the petition is in support of a Comhairle decision; for example, had there been a community petition on restoration of full road equivalent tariff (RET) for freight services, it would have been appropriate for such a petition to be available for signature in Comhairle offices, since that would be in support of Comhairle policies.

The reason for the general rule, that petitions on matters of political controversy are not made available, is shown by your email: some members of the public are happy that the petition is available, others most definitively are not. The difference in this case is that the Comhairle has conducted a series of public (and internal) Consultations on its Budget Strategy, and the then proposal to discontinue the Barra/Benbecula and/or Benbecula/Stornoway air services was contained within the Consultation documents from the beginning of the process.

Members of the public have had a full opportunity – which many, I am glad to say, have taken – to contribute to that Consultation process, either by attendance at public meetings, email, letter or through their Elected Members, and, last Thursday, the Comhairle, having taken into account all Consultation responses, set its Budget, of which removal/reduction of these services was part. The Budget represents the Comhairle’s financial policy for the next two years, and that explains the decision which was taken not to make the petition available for signature in our offices. A similar decision was taken earlier yesterday in respect of public libraries.
The Comhairle will, of course, be happy to receive the petition if and when that is delivered, and I am sure that other public bodies, as well as local businesses, will be happy to display the petition for signature.

I do not think that any laws have been broken.

I hope that this clarifies the position.

Yours sincerely

Malcolm Burr
Ard-oifigear/Chief Executive
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

… so there we have it, the Council will accept any petition in their buildings that agree with their point of view but if you disagree with their views it is not welcome.

Democracy in action ladies and gents. It is definately time for Uist to make the break from this sham we have in Stornoway. I wonder who the poor soul will be that has to die before they realise the gravity of this mistake. Not that they really give a damn.”

Why has the wording of the SNP’s Barra air link petition been secretly changed?

Just days ago, some headline-grabbing local SNP figures were vowing to save the Barra air link with a powerful petition which was to be set up at the heart of our nation’s government. Now, this blog can reveal that the furiously-worded plea to the Scottish Parliament slagging off Comhairle nan Eilean Siar for its plan to axe the link which hardly anyone uses except for officials on mammoth expenses has been watered down into a wishy-washy mess.

After no less wise a head than their former party colleague Andrew Walker pointed out first on this blog that the Scottish Government was powerless to tell the comhairle what to do on an issue like this, some heads finally seem to have been banged together and told to take proper advice and stop the grandstanding. Ouch.

Now the previous blood-red prose demanding Holyrood kicks Sandwick Road’s ass has been replaced with a lukewarm call for some kind of an unexplained dull-as-dishwater and unspecified “review” with no mention of the previous “serious implications”, risk to the “future of all internal flights”, or descriptions of the “appalling move”. See for yourself:

Here’s petitioners Councillors Gordon Murray and Rae Mackenzie’s promised wording which they announced last week:

“To petition the Scottish Parliament that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar maintains its support for the lifeline air services between Stornoway, Benbecula and Barra; the petitioners believing that the Comhairle’s current proposals risk the future of all internal flights within the Outer Hebrides and would severely undermine the transport connections which have been built up between the islands over the last forty years, with serious implications for the local economy and community; asks the petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament to ensure the Comhairle fulfils its air transport Public Service obligations in the Hebrides and to examine the implications for people in all Scotland’s island communities of this appalling move”.

Now here’s the actual comparatively-dreary wording they posted on the petitions website:

“Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review its national policies on the provision of lifeline air services between Scotland’s islands, consider the impact on local communities by the withdrawal of subsidies which enable such air services and to develop air transport public service obligations in the Hebrides and throughout Scotland”.

Good grief. Not one mention now of the evil comhairle or any “appalling” moves. Why? There was no announcement of a change of stance. Were they not going to tell us? If not, we have all been misled. Who was responsible for the change from the text they published last week? Will we ever be told why?

I wonder what poor Andrew Walker – now languishing in Coventry where he has been banished by the entire local SNP for telling uncomfortable truths – thinks of the incredible change to the petition wording in response to the damning strategic errors he so helpfully pointed out to Messrs Mackenzie and Murray?

Mr Walker says: “What a climbdown! As I have also said, this will go nowhere fast, and an urgent decision is required to ensure some continuation of the Barra to Benbecula route from April (six weeks). Urgent funding and intervention is required from the Scottish Government.”

Stupid thieves have been targeting VW Golfs on Benbecula. Wonder what car they are driving?

Police in the Uists are appealing for help to catch to catch some dozy thieves on Benbecula after two thefts there last weekend which may be linked.

Between 11am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday, a spare wheel was stolen from the boot of a Volkswagen Golf parked outside the owner’s house in Liniclate. The spare was a full-size 15-inch steel wheel.

In another incident, between 3.30pm on Friday 8.30pm on Sunday, all four wheel trims were stolen from another Volkswagen Golf car parked in the long-term car park at Benbecula Airport. The silver-coloured VW-branded wheel trims taken are compatible with steel 15-inch wheels. Surprise surprise.

One model of Golf

Unfortunately for the bungling boys behind the thefts, Constable Adrian Kay of Benbecula Police Station is on the case. He said: “These two thefts occurred over the same weekend and the items stolen relate to the same make and model of car and also the same wheel size. We ask anyone who may have information about these incidents, or who are aware of anybody selling these items, to come forward.”

He and his colleagues want to speak to the people spotted in a dark-coloured hatchback car which was actually spotted driving into the airport car park around 12.40pm on Sunday. They may have information about the incidents.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Benbecula Police Station on 01870 602374 or CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111 or online at http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken by CrimeStoppers and information is not traced so you will not have to go to court to give evidence.

New newspaper about to launch in the Western Isles

According to the Twittersphere in the last hour or two, someone is to launch a new newspaper for the Western Isles in March. Well, there have been rumours for some time.

Dummy of new paper spotted in island shop.

I understand the Island News is going to be monthly at first and build from there. The commercial model is free – based on the same formula which has proved so successful for Fred Silver’s Events.

This one, however, seems to be more news-led so I suspect a gnarled old hack with ink-stained body parts must be in the hot seat.

Hmm, hope this editor is a friendly type who will reach out to all corners of the community and all news sources. That would be nice.

If they want to make an impact, they will have to go for proper campaigning journalism instead of slumping back into churning out the virtually untouched press releases which have been our staple diet for so very long. There are plenty issues they could pick.

Oops, is that a spelling mistake at the top of the dummy front page? Surely not.

Minister should not decide who can complain to him over RET

OUTER HEBRIDES TRANSPORT GROUP
Email: [email protected]

NEWS RELEASE

OUTER HEBRIDES TRANSPORT GROUP DEMAND THAT MINISTER GIVES ACCESS TO ALL

Gail Robertson of DJ Buchanan Haulage in Benbecula and Co-ordinator of the Outer Hebrides Transport Group said: “The Scottish Government should remember that it’s islanders that want the meeting on Tuesday. By denying islanders access to a meeting in Edinburgh, Scottish Transport Minister, Keith Brown is behaving like a football manager who wants to select not only his own team but also his opponents’.
“We will be taking a full squad to St Andrew’s House in the hope and expectation that Mr Brown will reconsider his position”.

One of those denied a chance to make the case for the retention of RET for commercial vehicles, livestock haulier and agricultural supplier, Norman MacAskill of Drimore Farm on South Uist, said: “I can’t believe that the transport minister is so arrogant that he feels he can dictate to the islands who can go and speak with him and I can’t believe how politically impotent our MSP Alasdair Allan is.
“How on earth can Mr Allan not secure a meeting for people involved in crofting, fishing, construction, fish farming and weaving. Regardless of his attitude we will be going to Edinburgh and hope that Mr Brown will let us into the meeting. Islanders are now appreciating the devastating impact the removal of RET will have on every household and business.
“This SNP tax will have a devastating effect on our economy. Mr Brown would do well to remember that the first SNP representative in the islands was Donald Stewart who campaigned for RET and he would be turning in his grave if he were to appreciate what the SNP Government were proposing. People might think that Islanders have heather growing out their ears but we assure Mr Brown that we are not coming with sticks and knives”

David Wood of Woody’s Express said: “The behaviour of the SNP on this issue has been breathtakingly arrogant. We have a simple message for Keith Brown. We want a continuation of RET for commercial vehicles and we want the government to undertake a proper consultation and not to fob islanders off with the sham they are calling a consultation.
“Islanders are amazed that the government is choosing who can lobby them and shutting the door to a representative group – we hope they will see sense before Tuesday afternoon.”

More from Sam Chambers in the chamber …

More from the Stornoway fuel meeting from Maciver TV

More footage of how a string of Scottish Fuels flunkies tried in vain to defend their pricing policy in the Western Isles.

A gay student writes.

This comment from I Maclean was made a few weeks ago in response to what I wrote about the Uig homophobe. However, many readers with an interest in the subject said they did not see it. So again …
.
Everyone deserves the same rights as everyone else. Fact! Yes everyone can have their opinion, bigoted or otherwise but you cannot deny one individual the right to e.g. marry when others in society can, it is wrong. We all pay the same taxes and unless you break the law all have the same rights until that point. As for religion…the number of church goers has declined 70% in the last 25 years. Not because the devil is reaching into the minds of today’s people but because people are tired of all the hatred and squabbling it breeds. You preach acceptance, forgiveness, charity, eradicate poverty, eradicate war and you can’t even agree with each other to prevent petty squabbling amongst yourselves over something like hymns. Then half of you decide to ignore for example psalm 150 and you expect others to trust you!? Laughable.

If you were born a few hundred years ago you have condemned those who thought the world was round and the universe itself did not revolve around the earth because you blindly follow those who guide you and the inherent bias they allow into their preaching. Nowadays these medieval religious fanatics who imprisoned Galileo are laughed at for their ignorance and soon you too will be laughed at by future christians who accept LGBT individuals for who they are and how they were born. Maybe then numbers of churchgoers will even increase again when a true message of tolerance and love it finally preached.

PS I’m gay and religious and come from lewis. I know god loves me and everyone who chooses to follow him. Do I believe I should be able to marry in a church? Yes. Do I therefore believe that ministers should be forced to do it or be branded ignorant? No, because I know you haven’t caught up with society and do not want to upset you or the church. Do you really believe so many people would “choose” to be gay, especially 30 years ago for example. Choose to be spat on, shouted homophobic abuse at, kicked, beaten up, murdered, just to be different. What would you say to the parents of children in schools who did nothing about homophobic bullying? We’re sorry for your loss, that your son/daughter was murdered/took their own life, but your child shouldn’t have “chosen” to be gay, he/she should have known it was a possibility. Maybe we should replace anti homophobic bullying literature in school with leaflets that warn of the risks? If you “choose” this lifestyle youmay end up “choosing” to kill yourself or may be at risk of being beaten so badly you will enter a persistent vegetative state or have your throat slit. Shame on you.

You cause LGBT individuals so much pain and you can’t acknowledge it. Finally, another example of how you are usually behind society you used to preach that suicide was a sin. Mental illness is NOT preventable and you allowed families to believe their children, husbands, wives had condemned themselves to an eternity in hell until you caught up with the science that proved it was no more preventable than cancer or the cold.

COAST ANNOUNCES “ROAD OUTTA THIS TOWN” TOUR

COAST ANNOUNCES “ROAD OUTTA THIS TOWN” TOUR

Celtic rock band COAST have announced a tour of the Highlands and Islands in August. Just a couple of months after the release in Inverness of their second album “The Turning Stone”, the lads are returning to the north of Scotland for a week which will climax in the founding members returning to their roots on the island of Benbecula.

The “Road Outta This Town” tour dates are:
Wednesday 17 August - Strathpeffer Pavilion
Thursday 18 August - Royal Hotel, Portree
Friday 19 August - Royal British Legion, Stornoway
Saturday 20 August - Dark Island Hotel, Benbecula

Runrig drummer Iain Bayne, who is manager of COAST, said: “This is going to be a very special week for the boys. They know they have great support around the Highlands and Islands.

However, for lead singer Paul Eastham and his brother Chris, who were from an Army family and lived for a number of years on Benbecula and went to school in Balivanich, they feel they are coming home.”

The five-piece band, which is based in Southampton, has already been busy this year playing several European festivals. They have played in Denmark and Norway and have also supported Bryan Adams in Germany. The band is heading back to Copenhagen again this week.