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Air Ambulance - wrong Island

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Old 21st March 2008 | 16:50
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From: Edge of the Atlantic
Air Ambulance - wrong Island

Fro Hebrides News

Air ambulance leaves Barra cancer patient on wrong island 21/3/08


A blunder has left a seriously ill cancer patient stranded on the wrong island by an air ambulance crew.

An air ambulance helicopter flew Archie Boyd to the wrong island this (Fri) morning after he received a session of radiotherapy treatment in a Glasgow hospital.

The 63-year-old was discharged at 7.30 am from the Beatson Cancer Centre at Gartnavel Hospital. He was due to be transferred to St Brendan's Hospital in Castlebay on his home island of Barra.

Archie is too weak to move properly and the cancer in his face means he has lost the sight in one eye. It also affected his speech for a period. He has been ill for around six months and has had chemotherapy and radiotherapy in an attempt to treat his head cancer.

The only way to get him home to Barra was by air ambulance but a mistake meant the pilot landed at Benbecula, some 40 miles to the north, on Friday morning.

Archie was taken off the helicopter and it returned to Glasgow. An ambulance was arranged to take the stranded patient to the Balivanich hospital.

The error has been compounded by high winds which ambulance chiefs say is preventing a helicopter from returning to pick him up for the correct destination.

Archie was still on Benbecula on Friday afternoon and his 81-year-old partner Bellag who is waiting for him in Castlebay is very distressed at his stranding.

She said: "It is disgusting. He is still not home in Barra yet. I think this is terrible. The same thing happened last week to another patient and they fly him to Barra instead of Uist. It is just awful."

She stressed: "I have to just wait until I know what is happening. I would not like this to happen to anyone else."

An Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman admitted the patient was taken to the wrong hospital.

He said: "It was our understanding that the patient was to go to the Uist and Barra hospital in Benbecula.

He said that the weather was thwarting attempts to return: "We tried to get the Inverness helicopter out to take the patient to Barra this morning.

"We are making every effort with both the Inverness and Glasgow helicopters to get the patient to the Barra hospital today. We will continue until we can."
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Old 23rd March 2008 | 10:55
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From: Alles über die platz
Mmm, intersting story. http://www.western-isles.info/page1145.html

I tend to think the crew went to the right island, but they were told the wrong one to go to!

Until the facts are known and perhaps even after that time, if they think

It is disgusting. .... I think this is terrible. .... It is just awful."
... in future they can go by boat!




The only way to get him home to Barra was by air ambulance
Oh Really !!!!

http://www.isleofbarra.com/whereweare.html

You can get to Isle of Barra by air or by ferry. The Caledonian MacBrayne ferry runs from Oban to Castlebay four times a week.
British Airways Express operate daily flights (except Sundays) to Cockleshell beach from Glasgow airport. You can find the searchable timeteble here http://www.british-airways.com/flights/timetables/
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Old 24th March 2008 | 01:22
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From: Dudley (UK)
sonas

A quote from a British newspaper (most of which are renowned for their inaccuracies) without any comment by yourself does lead people to be rather suspicious of your motives in creating the post.
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Old 24th March 2008 | 08:35
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From: Desert Rat
Thumbs down the media

Aaah, newspapers! What wonderful sources of information
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