I bring you some very disturbing news from Mountain Rescue.

A few years ago search and rescue was privaisted - for various reasons - and Bristow Helicopters got the contract. However, all is not well and four mountain rescue teams have issued a statement criticising the contract. The contents of the letter are below and it is a long letter but to summarize:

1. Bristow Helicopters are contracted to rescue people in distress.

Mountain rescue volunteers are not in distress, even if that means a four hour walk back to the car park from the Cairngorm Plateau in a storm. Previously RAF / army / RN helicopter would take them off. From the Cairngorm plateau to a car park in Aviemore in a helicopter takes less than 5 minutes.

2. A body is not a person in distress. Therefore Bristow helicopters are not taking them off the mountains, meaning mountain rescue have to carry them for miles and down several thousand feet.

I have been on the Cairngorm plateau and it is a quite incredible place to be, with alpine plants, ptarmigan and Arctic tundra. I cannot get over my anger and fury over what has gone on. I don't know what to say or do right now but I am really angry.

The letter;

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/mountain-rescue-teams-criticise-search-and-rescue-helicopter-contract/0018767/

This is disgraceful...although hardly unexpected.
The story we were 'sold' was that the new service would be equal to, if not better than the service provided by the RAF....at a lower cost.
IMHO the mistake MRTs made was to believe the government's spin.

Sadly this is exactly what a lot of us thought would happen, once profit (most likely) became the main motivator for the service.
Some things cannot be privatised IMHO.

Have a read of this from Lochaber MRT

Thanks to Michael Glass for the heads-up.