Marine ambulance returns to Guernsey after refurbishment work
Marine ambulance returns after refurbishment work
Maintenance on the nearly 30-year-old vessel is being carried out in various phases throughout the year
In total, the work is expected to cost about £200,000.
Maintenance on the nearly 30-year-old vessel is being carried out in various phases throughout the year.
Upgrades made to the St John Marine Ambulance, the Flying Christine III, could extend its life by up to 10 years, the service said.
The Bailiwick's only marine ambulance has returned to Guernsey after refurbishment work in the Isle of Wight.
Back for Liberation Day
Ambulance and Rescue Guernsey's chief executive officer, Mark Mapp, said it was cheaper to rebuild the vessel than replace it.
"We've done a lot of work on the interior cabin where the treatment area is. Essentially it looks like a normal road ambulance in the back of the Flying Christine."
Mr Mapp said it was important the vessel was back in the island for Liberation Day as it was involved in some of the celebrations.
"She needs a good deep clean before she goes back into service and all the clinical and medical equipment needs to be put back on her first."
Phase one of the maintenance programme has now been completed with the second phase scheduled for December, avoiding the summer period when demand for the marine ambulance is normally higher.
Volunteer marine operations manager, Gary Ward, said the vessel was "good to go for another 10 years or even more."
Mr Ward said: "Phase one was to do all the mechanical side to the boat. Looking after the engines, the gearboxes and the electronics and now we've just done the hull, the superstructure, the clinical cabin, all the navigation system has been replaced."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Fire crews tackle Havenstreet cottage blaze
Firefighters have worked overnight to put out a fire at a cottage on the Isle of from across the island were sent to the fire on Combley Road, near Havenstreet at about 22:45 BST where the fire at the semi-detached cottage had taken hold on both the ground and first said those at home were taken into the care of the ambulance are expected to remain at the home to dampen down hotspots on Thursday. The fire service said the cause of the fire is not yet known. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Calls to make drivers report hitting a cat law in Guernsey
More than 550 people have signed a petition calling to make it a legal requirement to report hitting a cat with a drivers in Guernsey only have to report hitting dogs, horses, cows, asses, mules, sheep, pigs or Nichola Lloyd, who lost two cats after being hit by cars, said it was "completely bonkers" that collisions with cats did not need to be reported. Jersey became the first place in the British Isles to make it law to report a collision with a cat, carrying a fine of £10,000. 'I still miss him' Dr Lloyd lost her cat Freddie in 2024 after he was hit by a vehicle outside her home."It was awful, we'd only had Freddie around a year. We'd just got married about two weeks before and we were settling into a new house."I wasn't lucky enough to have children so my cats are my children, it was like losing a member of the family. I still really miss him."Dr Lloyd has joined in the calls to update the law to make reporting a collision with a cat a legal responsibility."I was looking up and a cat doesn't come under the definition of an animal under the Road Traffic [Ordinance]," she said."You've got to stop for a lot of things, I appreciate that cats being cats are possibly more likely to be run over than other animals, but that doesn't make them any less an animal." Steve Byrne, manager at animal charity GSPCA, said volunteers saw around 200 - 300 incidents of cats being run over every year."If they aren't reported quickly then obviously you've got a potentially suffering animal in the road and you'll have a very worried owner not knowing where the animal is," he saidMr Byrne said one of the challenges the charity faces is reuniting injured and dead cats with their owner."Sadly, only about 80% of cats are microchipped so there is a good portion of these cats that sometimes you've got no identification to try and find the owner. Kayleigh Mills started an online petition after she witnessed a cat get hit by a car on her road in St Peter Port."There are constantly posts on social media saying, 'my cat has been hit in this road, my cat's been hit in that road', and I just think that it is about time people reported it," she said."If you hit a horse or a pig or a goat, you have to report it, but for cats it doesn't feel like a priority."
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Bushbury Crematorium services to continue during refurbishment
Visitors have been assured cremations, services and burials will not be affected when chapels at a crematorium are refurbished this at the west and east chapels at Bushbury Crematorium in Wolverhampton will be carried out consecutively to cause minimum disruption, City of Wolverhampton Council chapel will be closed for four weeks, starting with the west from 30 June until 25 July, followed by the east from 28 July until 22 will not affect burials at Bushbury Cemetery. New carpets and curtains will be installed at West Chapel, in addition to repainting and renovations to the windows and entrance Chapel will get a new door and also be repainted, with new carpets and lights installed in the entrance will also be repaired or replaced at both flower terrace on the East Chapel will remain open for people who regularly place flowers overlooking the Garden of council said its bereavement services team would be available to answer questions or member for resident services Bhupinder Gakhal said the authority could "reassure families that this refurbishment work will improve the chapels for services and periods of reflection". Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
