Search for:
kralbetz.com1xbit güncelTipobet365Anadolu Casino GirişMariobet GirişSupertotobet mobil girişBetistbahis.comSahabetTarafbetMatadorbethack forumBetturkeyXumabet GirişrestbetbetpasGonebetBetticketTrendbetistanbulbahisbetixirtwinplaymegaparifixbetzbahisalobetaspercasino1winorisbetbetkom
UK Scout leader reveals Jamboree chaos amid South Korea heatwave – with ‘ambulances everywhere’ | UK News

A UK Scout leader at the World Jamboree in South Korea has described conditions as “atrocious and unusable”.

More than 4,000 British attendees – many of them children – are being moved from a camp into hotels due to extreme temperatures hitting the country.

The 29-year-old contingent unit leader claimed there were “ambulances everywhere” – and the event’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to keep people safe in searing heat.

Scout water bottle
Image:
Leaky water bottle given to Scouts by UK contingent

Speaking to Sky News journalist Kirsty Hickey, he said his group – which includes 30 children – have been given bad-quality, small water bottles.

“A third have broken and leak even though they tell us to drink a litre every hour,” he said. “Getting water is a 10-minute walk away in the heat.”

The Scout leader, who did not wish to be named, also alleged toilet facilities were unclean, and there have been complaints that the meals offered were not nutritionally balanced.

Toilet block
Image:
Toilet block at Jamboree was described as ‘unusable’

He revealed that they had to wait for over an hour in the heat for coaches to take them to Seoul – and claimed the emergency services needed to be called after some children passed out. However, the kids in his group are fine.

“The money hasn’t been worth it as we’re leaving and not getting the experience we paid for,” the Scout leader told us.

“The kids are upset that this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has gone to waste because of lack of organisation and preparation.”

Police at Scout Jamboree
Image:
Emergency services deployed to event

The contingent unit leader added that in comparison to the 2015 World Jamboree in Japan – which also suffered from stifling temperatures – appropriate infrastructure made the event bearable.

It comes after organisers and the South Korean government said water trucks, air-conditioned spaced and medics were being sent to the event.

Temperatures in some parts of the country have topped 38C (100.4F) this week, with at least 600 people at the event having been treated for heat-related ailments, according to officials.

The event in southwestern Buan has attracted around 40,000 participants from 155 countries, most of them aged between 14 and 18.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Bear Grylls urges Scouts to stay hydrated

‘A complete mess’

Peter Naldrett, who has two children at the World Scout Jamboree, posted on X (formerly Twitter) to say that parents have been asked not to talk to the press.

He revealed that he had raised a total of £9,000 so his kids could attend the event.

Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree lie down. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

“The South Koreans have made a complete mess of organising this. The government took over running the site and it’s still a mess,” Mr Naldrett wrote.

He praised UK contingent leaders for how they have handled the situation and tried to keep morale high.

“If moving all the scouts off site over 48 hours is honestly the best move for the event, then fair enough. But the kids are looking forward to trips out and the famous culture day,” Mr Naldrett added.

Attendees of the World Scout Jamboree cool off. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The father believes that children should be able to return to the site for key events – and called on corporate sponsors to make donations so their trip isn’t wasted.

Urging the government to help, he concluded by saying: “There needs to be a massive effort to save this experience and it should be a no expense spared job … I do want the 4,000 UK kids to experience the international mixing and activities they have been flown over there for.”

Record number of ambulances queue at A&E departments in England as NHS comes under increasing pressure | UK News

Almost half of ambulance crews were delayed by more than half an hour dropping off patients at England’s A&E departments in the week to New Year’s Day, new figures reveal.

Some 44% were delayed by 30 minutes or more – the highest proportion on record.

More than a quarter (26%) were delayed by more than an hour.

The figures lay bare the pressures hospitals have faced in recent weeks, with flu cases rising by 47%.

On Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged the “enormous pressure” the NHS is under, and repeated his commitment to tackling waiting lists, which he first outlined during his first major speech of 2023 on Wednesday.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a London school, Mr Sunak said that moving people out of hospitals into social care and communities, in order to free up hospital beds, is “one of the most powerful” ways to cut down ambulance waiting times and ease pressures on A&E departments.

He added that the government is also supporting the NHS “with billions of pounds of extra funding,” blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for current challenges.

On 1 January, Sky News counted 24 ambulances parked outside the A&E department at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

A member of ambulance staff told Sky News that at one point in the day their official dashboard showed 32 ambulances were stuck waiting to transfer patients at the hospital, with additional vehicles waiting round the back of the hospital after space at the front was taken.