No empathy

NorthLink Ferries refused to make a small effort to help a toddler home after massive surgery. I am appalled by this complete lack of empathy and understanding.

The little boy is obviously very vulnerable after such a big operation. The NHS has put its best efforts forward to treat him, managing to discharge him early. And then what happens?

The family is three minutes late at the terminal (after phoning in to warn NorthLink) and they are turned away, told to come back 24 hours later when they will be on the ferry without a cabin.

What loathsome toad thinks that a child who has just undergone surgery like that ought to be left to roam Aberdeen’s streets for 24 hours and then sleep in a reclining chair for another 12 hours?

NorthLink, do you really think this is the right way to run a lifeline service to Shetland?

This family are not random tourists, too feckle to plan their travel properly. They are islanders trying to return home with a very ill child.

A small gesture of goodwill would have gone a long way. Would it have hurt anybody to wait a little bit for the family to board the ferry?

And to add insult to injury, NorthLink’s managing director Stuart Garrett tells Shetland News that the matter was handled perfectly well. No hint of regret, no whiff of an apology.

This would have been the time to swallow your pride and admit that a big mistake was made.

Stuart, sorry to have to tell you this, but you have made a bad move a thousand times worse by not even seeming to understand what the problem is.

Shakespeare once wrote: “Thou art a natural coward without instinct,” a sentiment I am sharing at this time.

Dominique Walterson
Skeld