Category: News

In November 2022, SHG announced St Helena would receive funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s bespoke 2022/2023: Improving Essential Equipment in Overseas Territories’ programme.

St Helena was allocated up to £1,800,000 for the purchase of equipment of critical importance to the Island, in areas including healthcare, emergency services, port operations, road maintenance and the airport. Of the £1,800,000, in November SHG identified £1,735,482 to procure equipment vital to improving the resilience and well-being of our community.

Focus on St Helena Airport

£42,224 was allocated on equipment for the airport. This was used to purchase a Dry Chemical Powder Recirculation station, along with Nitrogen cylinders and filling regulators. These arrived in April 2023 and are already in use by the Airport Fire Fighting response vehicles.

This essential equipment is required to ensure that the airport remains in compliance with international airport regulations for the discharge rate of dry chemical powder.

Due to the humidity experienced at the airport, the dry chemical powder needs to be aerated to prevent ‘caking’ and to ensure effective discharge rates. This in turn ensures any response to fires that require a dry chemical agent are dealt with rapidly, preventing further spread, and minimising risk to life and damage to property.

Trainer, Deon Van Zyl, from South African based Brigit Systems, arrived on 15 April 2023 to provide training on the nitrogen system. On 5 May 2023, trainer Mark Richards from Perren Engineering Ltd, a UK based company, arrived to provide training on the dry powder system.  

Although £42,224 was allocated to the airport, the total spent on the equipment and training was approximately £37,500. This is a result of fluctuations in things like currency, equipment and shipping costs, and preferred suppliers between the point of allocation and the point of delivery and commissioning. These fluctuations have some limited impact on the final costs of procuring the other equipment, albeit well within the £1,800,000 funding ceiling.

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 Other essential equipment

Further to the press release issued in June, a number of additional items have arrived for the Health and Social Care Portfolio. This includes equipment for cardiology and blood services, and are currently being installed and commissioned.

The reach stacker, slurry paver and immunoassay device are expected to arrive on the next voyage of the Maria da Paz.

A further update on this programme will be provided in due course.

#StHelena #FCDO #ImprovingEssentialInfrastructure

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SHG

23 October 2023

St Helena Government’s Mental Health Team Lead, Ian Rummery, and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Public Health Consultant, Sunita Sturup-Toft, recently visited Montserrat and provided mental health strategy and interventions support to the territory’s prison.

Montserrat is a small island located in the Caribbean and, like St Helena, is a UK Overseas Territory.

The UKHSA received a request from the Governor of Montserrat to explore what more could be done to address the increasing mental health challenges within the island’s prison. Montserrat has a similar sized prison to St Helena and faces similar challenges in managing its prison population. Ian has been involved in developing a health care service for HM Prison Jamestown, and so agreed to support the request in conjunction with UKHSA.

Ian and Sunita arrived in Montserrat on 27 September 2023 and departed on 11 October 2023. During their time on Montserrat Ian and Sunita met with the Montserrat mental health team, other health professionals, as well as the police and prison personnel. 

Ian commented:

“This was an amazing opportunity to meet fellow professionals in a similar sized Overseas Territory and discuss ways in which we care for people who are in prison and experiencing mental health problems. My colleagues in Montserrat were so welcoming and we have had very productive discussions about the challenges they face.”

“On St Helena it is easy to lose perspective as we work in isolation. To have the opportunity to visit another Overseas Territory and hear both their successes and challenges has been professionally and personally very rewarding. I am very grateful to UKHSA for giving me this opportunity.”

Notes to editor:

Ian’s visit to Montserrat was funded by the UKHSA as part of the OT Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Governance Programme.

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From left to right standing: Adegboyega Bamisile (Clinical Psychologist – Montserrat); Donamie Mathieu (Mental Health Nurse Practitioner- Montserrat), Sunita Sturup-Toft (UKHSA Consultant); Ian Rummery (Mental Health Team Lead – St Helena) and sitting Donique Layne (Community Psychiatric Nurse – Montserrat).

#StHelena #Montserrat #OverseasTerritory #MentalHealth

SHG
23 October 2023

Since our last update on 2 October and the intermittent closure of Side Path Road from 9 October 2023, the contractor has continued to make excellent progress.

Hillside excavation work has currently progressed ahead of schedule. Discussions are now ongoing with the contractor to see if they are able to increase their rate of removing the excavated material from the site. If so then there is a real possibility of being able to shorten the overall construction programme and enable Field Road to re-open ahead of schedule.

To try and help facilitate this, following a request from the contractor, permission has been granted for them to also work on Sundays.

To facilitate this, the Highways Authority has approved the closure of Side Path Road on Sunday, 29 October 2023. Road closure and diversion signs will be in place, with access to and from Jamestown still being available via Constitution Hill Road. With the low levels of traffic generally experienced on Sundays, the contractor will not be implementing any further traffic management measures.

Depending on the progress of works, further Sunday closures of Side Path Road may be considered where this can help works to be completed faster. However, any such closures will be the subject of separate approvals and announcements.

For any questions regarding the Field Road site works, please contact the EDIP Site Supervisor, Mr Chris Williams, by telephone on 67424.

#StHelena #Field Road #EDIP

SHG

20 October 2023

Saturday, 14 October 2023, marked six years since the commencement of flights to St Helena and just over a year since resumption of regular services following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiation of regular air services has transformed travel to and from the Island. Travel time between St Helena and South Africa, and St Helena and Ascension, has reduced by over 96%.

St Helena air services enable Saints, friends and family, tourists and business travellers to connect quickly to international hubs around the world. This fast mode of travel has had a huge impact on the lives of many living and working on St Helena, especially through medical evacuations. Given St Helena’s remoteness, air access was also critical to the transportation of essential medical supplies and equipment to the Island during the COVID-19 pandemic and our transition to post-pandemic normality. Air connectivity also continues to support the development of the Island’s economy, from facilitating faster trips by investors and experts, to growing the tourism sector.

Since 2017 St Helena has been served by a regular air service operated by Airlink. Due to the Island’s remoteness and conditions at the airport, air services require specific technical and operational capabilities, in addition to having appropriate aircraft and air crews. This has been demonstrated again recently, whereby the airport faced the windiest September on record since its opening, requiring a flexible approach to scheduling.

St Helena has worked closely with Airlink to support the development of their service over the last six years. Given these requirements there are only a limited number of operators capable of providing the kind of service the Island needs, and we are proud to be partnering with one of the leading carriers in the region to deliver this.

Regular dialogue with the Airlink management team allows for periodic enhancements to the services, including expansion of weekly frequencies during peak travel periods. This has been facilitated by the support of the UK Government via the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), for which SHG is equally grateful.

Work continues to grow the route and we will see the reintroduction of twice weekly flights between Johannesburg and St Helena operating between November 2023 and February 2024. Discussions remain ongoing between SHG, Airlink and regulatory authorities in South Africa to put appropriate measures in place to allow the resumption of additional flights to and from Cape Town for the following peak season.

Air services have been facilitated by the opening of St Helena Airport in 2017. The commencement of flights was the conclusion of a six year project, which itself followed decades of discussions and consideration as to how build and commission an airport in one of the most remote and challenging territories in the world.

St Helena Airport is a highly regulated organisation, ensuring it maintains the highest industry standards. As well as being subject to regular monitoring and evaluation, in August it was subject to an audit conducted by the airport’s regulator, Air Safety Support International (ASSI). It achieved exemplary results, demonstrating that it achieved and complies with all necessary international standards.

Minister for Economic Development, Mark Brooks, said:

“It is hard to overstate the impact that the airport and regular air services have had on our Island. From the countless saved lives to the ability for loved ones to travel to and from St Helena quickly and with ease, many of whom might not previously otherwise have been able to make the journey. It’s also facilitating the increased growth of our tourism sector, what is now the third largest contributor to the economy after the two types of financial aid we receive from the UK Government.”

“Operating air services to St Helena is not as straightforward as is the case for many destinations elsewhere around the world. The fact we are able to do so is a testament to the hard work and determination of our partners Airlink, our staff and the ongoing technical and financial support we receive from the UK Government. We’re grateful to everyone involved and I’m excited to see the continued transformation for our Island that comes from our connectivity to the rest of the world.”

Infographics

SHG

17 October 2023

#StHelena #Airlink #AirTravel #ABreathOfFreshAir