Visitors need more boats

June 3, 2010

Dear Sir,

I view myself, all other retail workers in the cruise ship ports in Bermuda, and taxi drivers as the front line of Bermudian hospitality (other than hotel workers obviously). We are the ambassadors to tourists and we are the very first people they make contact with once on shore. I work in retail right on Front Street, so I deal with the public and especially tourists on a daily basis, as well as the cruise ship directors that come on shore. Many are starting to express frustration over something that I think the Government must fix. As per a convo I had with a director and a group of tourists I was told Dockyard is "absolute bedlam with about 7,000 people crammed there..".

The cruise ship director and his many passengers were upset that only one ferry comes back and forth between Dockyard and Hamilton and yet a bus comes every five minutes to go to Horseshoe. We spoke for 20 minutes. We came to the consensus that another two vessels should be used AT LEAST. Enlisting other vessels already around other than ferries ..(i.e.the Longtail) to shuttle people back and forth to Dockyard and Hamilton is a must. Dockyard is ok, but only so big, and going to the beach is a must to glimpse our beauty, but coming to Hamilton to spend money in our stores, restaurants etc. is a major necessity! We need these tourists to come into Hamilton. We need a fresh source of outside money to pour into our economy.

Also, have you seen the line to go back to Dockyard? It stretches down to the flagpole almost some days from Albouy's Point with hot and bothered tourists waiting to go back to their ship. Our government spent TONS on those new fast ferries and millions on advertisement now going all over the USA east coast...what good is it all if when the tourists come they just get annoyed and have a bad experience, and to be frank, don't spend money!

Having said that, I was informed by a few Bermudian owners of large boats that made a bid to do this very job and ferry people to and from Dockyard, and they were denied by Government. WHY? This is a necessity and would open up a few more jobs for Bermudians. WHY did Government slam the door on them? Wake up. Tourism is in a shambles. Let's get this Island back on the road to be a tourism hot spot!

ROBERT DAVIES

Devonshire

Is Mr. Butler the one?

June 3, 2010

Dear Sir,

Campaigning on the Streets…Could He Be the One?

It's a bright, sunny day and a busy one in the City of Hamilton. A cruise ship lies berthed in the harbour and her passengers are greeted with warm smiles from the shopkeepers. Among the bustling shoppers and office workers on coffee breaks, Mr. Dale Butler, MP, can be seen making his way, slowly, down Reid Street. He stops to greet a group of pedestrians, turning instinctively to say hello to those who pass behind him. I approach with arm outstretched and go in for a handshake. I am greeted with enthusiasm and familiarity despite a comment that indicates Mr. Butler doesn't recognise me at all. Catching his mood, I cheerfully ignore the faux pas and wish him good luck and all the best on his election.

Since Mr. Butler announced his candidacy for the premiership to the talk show host of 89.1 earlier, the airwaves have been buzzing with activity. The MP who resigned after 'Uighur-Gate' in June 2009, is putting his name in the hat for the upcoming election. Is he leadership material the radio host implicitly asks? The phones have not stopped ringing since and the listening public has been thrown headfirst into the election campaign. A lady caller with fine intonation but a slight scorn in her voice says "Absolutely not. Mr. Butler speaks too fast!" A man who speaks energetically apparently cannot be trusted in Bermuda. Others reproach Mr. Butler's attempts of wanting to sell his books, organise entertainment and remark that "He works only for himself." Not one of his critics seems to address his politics.

It appears that the current financial climate has but obliterated Ms. Paula Cox's chances of winning the election, an otherwise very viable candidate until the crisis hit. Bermuda will be paying for its overspending for many years to come. Other contenders from the PLP are not as visible as Ms. Cox or Mr. Butler. With Ms. Cox squarely out of the way, they don't stand a chance against Mr. Butler. He appears to approach his work, be it political, literary or personal, with rigor, energy and steadfastness. If Bermuda needs a leader who can put emphasis on Bermuda's social and economic woes, unite across race, religion and nationality, and reinvent tourism, perhaps Mr. Butler could be the one. His lack of arrogance and innate ability to connect with people is very appealing after years of Ivory Tower leadership.

Back on Reid Street, Mr. Butler is still talking to yet another group of people and it takes him a while to get to Queen Street. Everyone wants to say hello and wish him well. It is early days still and Mr. Butler will have time to build his campaign and test-drive his mobilette. Perhaps at election time, old-school Bermudians will look past Mr. Butler's hyper-speed oratory and appreciate his myriad contributions to the country instead. The PLP will be hard pressed to find a candidate with as much popular appeal as Mr. Butler. The UBP would only be so lucky…

A RESIDENT OBSERVER

Hamilton

New age in childbirth

June 5, 2010

Dear Sir,

It is with sadness that I have witnessed the comments in the media recently about the childbirth situation here in Bermuda and specifically about homebirth. It seems that despite attempts to bring the various stakeholders together, the opinions of many are still just as polarised and uncompromising. If we acknowledge that birth is a life changing event and that the care given to women and their partners, during labour has the potential to affect them physically and emotionally in the short and longer term, we as professionals are beholden to do everything we can to ensure that how a baby is born and the environment in which it is born is the best it can be.

The debate over homebirth/hospital birth and midwife/obstetric care is one that can be seen throughout the developed world. It started with the recognition that the medicalisation of birth decades ago seemed to bring huge benefits improved maternal and infant mortality rates but for a while the excitement of technological change drowned out the emotional and psychological needs of the mother and child. Thus the protocols for modern childbirth were established: it worked, it improved death rates, but it didn't on the whole encourage a holistic approach and thus many sought alternatives to a process they saw as alienating and controlled by the medical profession.

In contrast, I have seen in the four years that I have been involved in childbirth in Bermuda the obstetricians listening to women, offering more choices and changing practice to accommodate desires. I believe we have obstetricians who recognise the value of midwifery care and the benefits of supporting physiologic birth but who also have to work in an environment governed by protocols and the pressures of medico-legal requirements and threats. I have seen the hospital endeavouring under the excellent guidance of Janet Whelan and Christine Virgil to bring more women centred care; trying to bring together and unifying the midwifery staff who come from differing training and birth culture backgrounds. I am not saying that there is not room for change, and I suspect they would be the first to admit it, but change is afoot.

I have also seen the homebirth movement develop. Largely due to the laudable desire and efforts of Sophia Cannonier Watson to create a safe homebirthing environment in Bermuda and take it out of the realms of an underground situation, she has secured the services of a very experienced midwife who has made great efforts to meet all the stakeholders here involved in childbirth to reassure and communicate with them. We know that research shows that in low risk women homebirth is as safe as hospital birth. We also know that if something goes unexpectedly wrong during labour at home the outcome for the mother and baby could be worse than if they were in the hospital with access to specialised care. It is holding these two facts in balance that is so essential to those on both sides of the debate. It should also be acknowledged that although ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecolgists) does not support homebirths, the RCOG (a similar organisation in the UK) has drawn different conclusions.

"The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) support home birth for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications and it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families. There is ample evidence showing that labouring at home increases a woman's likelihood of a birth that is both satisfying and safe, with implications for her health and that of her baby."

From my perspective as a nurse, childbirth educator and doula, I recognise a priority for evidence based care. These were the conclusions of a report which looked at the current state of maternity care in the USA. "Evidence based maternity care uses the best available research on the safety and effectiveness of specific practices to help guide maternity care decisions and to facilitate optimal outcomes in mothers and newborns. Although the field of pregnancy and childbirth pioneered evidence based practice, resulting in a wealth of good guidance for evidence-based maternity care, there remains a widespread and continuing underuse of beneficial practices, overuse of harmful or ineffective practices, and uncertainty about effect of inadequately assessed practices." (1).

The bottom line is that we need to recognise that often the usual ways of practicing frequently do not reflect the best evidence about safe, effective maternity care. Those that seek alternatives are often doing so in recognition of this and in exasperation that their needs are not being acknowledged or respected. I would like to think we may be on the verge of a new age in childbirth here in Bermuda. It may be that both sides will have to compromise, to agree to differ but also to recognise value in each other's positions. I believe we have the potential to make Bermuda a centre of excellence in the area of childbirth, giving women the options they deserve, in an evidence-based maternity environment. The potential to improve maternity care here is within our reach, but none of us can do it alone.

(1) "Evidence -Based Maternity Care: What is it and What it Can Achieve" Childbirth Connection, The Reforming States Group and the Milbank Memorial Fund 2008.

FIONA DILL