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Save Shetland Coastguard


millie
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I think one of the important, if not critical, things for me is on the local knowledge issue. Yes sure you can use google maps etc - as our CE believes, and he has more faith in them than I do.... but the "crunch" point is name duplication/repetition. Now based at Shetland, there are maybe a dozen 'Sandwicks'. From previous station I know of 2 major headlands - Start Point - one near Brixham and the other in Orkney. The point is, name duplication is fairly common.

Now... imagine being sat in the MOC on the end of a broken radio call "FV Lapwing ... sinking off black rock" ... no further comms.

Google tells me there are 27 black rocks in my half of the UK (my "District") and a further 32 in the other half.

OK, I'll try and pin down the Lapwing.... ah, the database says there are 263 of them, based all round the UK. damn

No problem, I'll phone the "on call" coastal safety team member (as detailed in the MCA proposal).. if I can get them, else I'll phone each lifeboat Coxn, or each CG rescue team station officer that has a black rock in their patch, with luck some of them will have a FV Lapwing too... oh damn (again) .... I've discounted ONE black rock, I've still another 26 to go, and it's already taken me 10 minutes since the original radio call to discount one of them. Oh well, keep treading water, we'll find you ...... eventually; it's just a process of elimination.

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Our MP Alistair Carmichael has certainly been very conspicuous by his absence at the Westminster Hall Debate on the future of the coastguard service on Wednesday 2 February. I watched this debate and he was nowhere to be seen, this was the first proper debate at Westminster on these ill thoughtout proposals.

 

Mr Carmichael should have made every effort to attend and speak up for Saving Shetland Coastguard, at this critical time he needs to be prominent and vocal at every opportunity.

 

Thankfully the MP Angus Macneil SNP (Na h-Eileanan an Iar - constituency) spoke up for both Shetland and Stornoway to be retained in a manner which I for one was proud of and for which Mr Carmichael should be grateful for, because if it wasn't for him Shetland would have never been mentioned during this important debate.

 

Mr Carmichael also needs to be giving regular interviews with the media across all platforms something which he seems to have shied away from of late.

 

After all he has been elected by the people of Shetland and Orkney to represent us on pivotal issues such as this and given the fact that thousands of people have signed the petition both online and the paper one demonstrates how imperative it is to have Shetland Coastguard saved and to remain open 24 hours a day, so he needs to get his behind off the fence now and make his face seen and voice heard before it gets too sore!

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I mind 2 incidents not all that long after the 999 Emergency Calls were switched to no longer being answered locally. Hope this is relevant?

 

1- A notorious local character, when inebriated, dialled 999 saying there was a fire at a house - in an attempt to gain access to a drinking party they had been locked out of. We saw the Fire Engine at 1am searching along country roads for a fire, more than a mile away from where the call was made, knocking folk up out their beds asking if anyone knew of a fire?

 

Local knowledge and a locally answered call would probably have recognised the caller and realised this might not be a real emergency? Maybe not a good example- maybe they have to dispatch a fire crew regardless?

 

 

2 - There was a fire in a house in Quarff, the call centre sooth dispatched the fire engine to Cunningsburgh - Quarff is on the Cunningsburgh exchange, a 477 dialling code.

The folk from the burning house in Quarff watched the fire engine screaming past, tried to wave them down from afar.

The Fire engine was searching vainly around St Clair Road for a fire.

Canna mind how it got resolved? Maybe the folk had to get in the car and look for the the fire engine?

 

Local knowledge would know that Quarff is not Cunningsburgh, even though they share the same dialling code.

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The following link takes you to the Press Release from the MCA regarding the series of Public Meetings to be held across the country on their proposals to modernise HM Coastguard, the one in Lerwick is on the 28th of February 7:30-9pm at the Town Hall.

Hopefully the place will be full and plenty of folk will express their views and ask plenty of questions.

 

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-home/newsandpublications/press-releases.htm?id=224FE24CF52730BB&m=2&y=2011

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This clearly display's the need for local knowledge where Scots or English is of no use whatsoever.

 

http://visit.shetland.org/whats-in-a-shetland-name

 

Heaven help anyone in trouble who must depend upon a call centre outside of Shetland linked by broadband/internet based connection

 

I hope more will come forward with more issues of call centre failures relating to Shetlands own language and place names.

 

Training operators in Shetlandic place names simply is not an option and the retention of local operators of emergency services is of paramount importance.

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Why does Tavish seem so teriffied of a devolved coastguard. It works for the police etc. Makes total sense to me. Get the decisions made by people who appreciate the importance of the service. The Libdems behaviour in this whole affair has been less than effective to say the least. But surely they wouldnt risk our coastguard service for the sake of party politics. Mind you i cant think of one thing the libdems have ever done for Shetland. So maybe they are teriffied of the SNP actually doing something that would benefit this community. Because it would be "one" thing more than they have ever done. IMHO..

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If you're hearing local accents regualrly you'll get used to them. This is more likely if you live in the area than if you just hear them over the radio occasionally.

 

fair enough but coastguards who initially come from elsewhere must have been able to decipher what locals were saying.

They deal will foreign accents regularly!!!!

 

Its amazing how clearly people speak when they have an important message to pass!

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