Union warns 'inaction' could sabotage shipyard's survival

The biggest union at the publicly-owned Ferguson shipyard has claimed that government inaction is jeopardising its future.

GMB Scotland said a failure to deliver promised investment or new orders to Ferguson Marine would amount to "sabotage". The union has been calling for a direct award of a new CalMac ferry order to help the Port Glasgow yard restore its reputation after delays and huge cost overruns building two dual-fuel ships.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the shipyard was of "national importance" and the government had previously acted to save jobs but any contract awards must satisfy procurement and state subsidy rules. During a debate at Holyrood on Tuesday she also made clear the release of modernisation funding was dependent on the firm presenting a revised business plan which factored in new orders.

The Holyrood debate discussed a report from the parliament's public audit committee which criticised previous governance failures but also called for more support for the shipyard to help it become more competitive. It warned the shipyard's viability was at risk without urgent action to address years of underinvestment and give the firm "a realistic chance" of securing new work.

GMB Scotland general secretary Louise Gilmour said the report should serve as an "emergency flare".

"The public audit committee could not have sounded the alarm more clearly or loudly over the future of Ferguson Marine," she said. "Its report demanded swift and effective action from the Scottish government but, in the six months since, we have heard only excuses and seen no action at all." She said ministers from John Swinney down had taken turns to "wring their hands and tell us how complicated it is".

"Scotland has a publicly-owned shipyard which successfully built small ferries for generations and a publicly-owned ferry company that urgently needs them. It is not that complicated," she added.

In September, a cross-party coalition of community leaders, trade unions, and local politicians urged First Minister John Swinney to award the contract for a replacement for the CalMac ferry MV Lord of the Isles directly to the shipyard.

The project has been ready to go to procurement since mid-summer, but three months on, no timescale has been given for a decision.

Forbes said any such award must be lawful and Transport Scotland was still considering the business case.


(BBC article continues)

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
-
If you are at Westbury and Trowbridge travelling to Chippenham or Swindon you should travel on the 18:41 Bristol Temple Meads service (18:48 from Trowbridge) and change at Bath Spa for the 19:43 London Paddington service which calls at Chippenham (19:55) and Swindon (20:09). However, if you are at Westbury or Trowbridge earlier, you may take the first available service via Bath Spa, via Melksham tickets will be accepted via Bath Spa at no additional cost.
-
If you are at Westbury or Trowbridge and travelling to Melksham, road transport is being arranged, you should contact station staff or use the Customer Help-Point.
-
If you are at Melksham we will provide road transport to Chippenham from the station car park.

20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
-
If you are at Swindon or Chippenham travelling to Trowbridge or Westbury you should travel on the 20:26 Weston-super-Mare service from Swindon (20:38 from Chippenham) and change at Bath Spa for the 21:08 Portsmouth Harbour service which calls at Trowbridge (21:31) and Westbury (21:38). However, if you are at Swindon or Chippenham earlier, you may take the first available service via Bath Spa, via Melksham tickets will be accepted via Bath Spa at no additional cost.
-
If you are travelling to Melksham you should change at Chippenham and speak to station staff.
-
If you are at Melksham we will provide road transport to Trowbridge and Westbury from the station car park.
-.
Further Information

If you require further information please speak to our staff at the station or on the train, use the Customer Help Point, message us on X @GWRHelp or call National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484 950.

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay

17:04 Didcot Parkway to Evesham due 18:23 will be terminated at Oxford.
It will no longer call at Hanborough, Combe, Finstock, Charlbury, Ascott-Under-Wychwood, Shipton, Kingham, Moreton-In-Marsh and Evesham.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

18:51 Evesham to Oxford due 19:50 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:11/12/2025 16:24

17:34 London Paddington to Hereford due 20:25 will be terminated at Oxford.
It will no longer call at Hanborough, Charlbury, Kingham, Moreton-In-Marsh, Evesham, Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Worcester Shrub Hill, Worcester Foregate Street, Malvern Link, Great Malvern, Colwall, Ledbury and Hereford.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:11/12/2025 17:35

22:00 Hereford to London Paddington due 01:15 will be started from Oxford.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:11/12/2025 14:30

Having just spoken with Samantha,the next destination for those playing at home  randomly selected by the laser display board is Filton Abbey Wood.

Isle of Man ferries resume after overnight disruption



Ferry sailings between the Isle of Man and Lancashire have resumed after overnight after they were cancelled by strong winds over the Irish Sea.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company cancelled the Manxman's Wednesday evening journey Heysham and its Douglas-bound return due to the choppy conditions.

The morning's crossing to the Lancashire port departed shortly before 08:00 GMT as scheduled.

Forecasters have warned of possible further disruption to travel to and from the island at the weekend, with gales expected to return on both Saturday and Sunday.

The lasted disruption followed the scrapping of all sailings on Tuesday as Storm Bram hit the island bringing storm force winds.

Thursday December 11

11:58 Great Malvern to London Paddington due 14:23 has been cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Last Updated:11/12/2025 12:02

Wiltshire deaths probe linked to patients' altered care records



The arrest of two ambulance workers over the deaths of six adults is linked to allegations some patients were not taken to hospital when they should have been and had their care records altered, the BBC can reveal.

A Wiltshire Police investigation, launched in 2023, is believed to be connected to an internal audit by South West Ambulance Service NHS Trust [SWAST] of an electronic patient care record system [ePCR].

The BBC understands vital readings were allegedly changed to make a patient appear less ill at the end of a shift so hospital transport - and potentially a long wait at the hospital - was avoided.

SWAST and Wiltshire Police have declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.

Last year a man in his 30s, from West Wiltshire, was arrested on suspicion of six counts of gross negligence manslaughter and four counts of ill-treatment or willful neglect by a care worker. An Emergency Care Assistant [ECA], a woman in her 50s, was also arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in March. Both have been released on bail.

One source, who the BBC is not naming, said: "One of the patients who died at home... had low oxygen saturation... a criteria that demanded hospital conveyance.The observations they changed manually, increased the saturation level to a rate that justified being managed at home."

The BBC understands the arrested paramedic was sacked, while the ECA, who is suspected of assisting the paramedic in changing the ePCR, remains suspended.


An NHS promotional video showed how the electronic patient care record system worked

A new ePCR system was launched by the ambulance service in 2016 and described it as "an electronic solution designed by paramedics for paramedics". Nineteen emergency vehicles were fitted with the device.

Under the system paramedics using a mobile electronic pad can input vital data such as blood pressure or a heart monitor reading. This is communicated to a unit at the hospital, streamlining the process of recording patient data during emergency responses.

Training for crews emphasises that patients seen at the end of a 12-hour shift should be treated in exactly the same manner as those at the beginning. But several sources within the emergency services have told the BBC that when an audit of the system was introduced in 2022, it flagged up discrepancies between the readings sent using bluetooth by the West Wiltshire paramedics and subsequent manual overrides they made.

The sources told the BBC that it is common practice to make manual changes to readings - such as blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation levels (SATS) - if paramedics believe an original reading was incorrect. Incorrect readings can also happen if, for instance, a patient is wearing nail varnish as that can affect the SATS reading. Temperature readings can also be wrong if patient's extremities are cold.

However, sources say that the audit identified a number of occasions where manual changes were later made that were not legitimate.

A Freedom of Information request by the BBC showed that, since January 2025 a total of 12,453 audits were completed, of which 719 were non-compliant - the equivalent of one in 17. Non-compliance can be for a variety of reasons, for example where paramedics failed to explain their clinical decisions.

As part of its investigation the BBC has also been told that two other SWAST paramedics have been suspended after another failed ePCR audit, not related to the police investigation. SWAST has declined to confirm the reason for these two suspensions.

..and nice to see Graham handing out timetables at Melksham at 6:30 (the 6:32 to Trowbridge (eventually Southampton) becomes the 6:29 next week)

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:00
15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.