Scotland: Rescues threatened

Stephen Low
The Politics Show Scotland

Sea King helicopters are to be replaced

The MoD have announced their intention to privatise the Search and Rescue Helicopter service that provides a lifeline for stricken mountaineers and fishermen.

It is a move that has sparked fears for the future effectiveness of the service and worries that people could have to take out insurance before they take to the hills.

The military helicopters which provide the current Search and rescue Service are nearing the end of their operational life.

The MoD want replacements provided under a Private Finance Initiative scheme which could involve not only the supply of aircraft but also maintenance and crews.

Mountain rescue Teams rely on the Search and Rescue teams to lift casualties off hillsides.

This is a tricky and potentially dangerous endeavour which involves close cooperation.

Joint training

Currently, Scotland's Mountain Rescue teams do a lot of joint training with the Search and Rescue Service

The civilian volunteers who make up the rescue teams are worried that a new service provider would see such training not as a benefit, but a cost, which could be trimmed in order to increase profitability.

They also worry that the shift from military to civilian machines and crews will reduce the effectiveness of the air support.

Military regulations rule

At the moment the choppers and their crews fly under military regulations.

This means they can operate in circumstances that civilian aviation regulations would not permit, crucial given the often difficult scenarios to which they are responding.

Alfie Ingram of the Mountain Rescue Committee for Scotland worries that teams on the ground might find themselves in "a difficult rescue and suddenly discover that crews are basically not allowed, because of regulations, to go in - where they were allowed to before".

That is a view echoed by Roger Wild, safety adviser for the Mountaineering Council for Scotland he's concerned that civilian regulations could prevent crews "going the extra mile".

At the moment it is unclear as to how the new system under which civilian aircraft will be leased to the MoD will be regulated.

Relationships threatened

Some also raise the prospect that the change will lead to a more profound change in the relationship between those who find themselves in difficulty on the hills and their rescuers.

The argument is that if air rescue is being provided by a private company, then the taxpayer should not be picking up the tab for those making use of the service.

That is the long term threat that bothers SNP MSP Michael Matheson, himself a member of Ochil Mountain Rescue Team.

"People may say, if we have a private operator providing the service, why should the tax-payer pick up any of the bill for that.

"And if they want to take it to its natural conclusion, you would say then that people will need their own private insurance to pay for the air cover. "

Politics Show

Tune into the Politics Show Scotland, on BBC One on Sunday 04 June 2006 at 12.00pm.

Let us know what you think.

---