The Ridgeway Hospital in Wroughton has helped to deliver 110 tonnes of urgent medical supplies to embattled Ukraine.
A Ukrainian doctor practicing in the UK, consultant urologist surgeon Sergey Tadtayev, teamed with his hospital operator, Circle Health Group, and the hospital near Swindon.
In response to direct requests from Ukrainian doctors, The Ridgeway Hospital has worked with the Ukrainian doctors’ union (Ukraine Medical Association) and the British Red Cross to identify needs in war-hit hospitals.
Sergey Tadtayev has galvanised his Circle colleagues to gather 10 truck loads including 200 pallets of vital equipment and medical supplies from across the Group’s national network of 53 hospitals.
Dr Tadtayev said: ‘My heart breaks for my fellow doctors back home who are fighting heroically to care for the sick and wounded – even as the bombs continue to fall.
"Hospitals are struggling to get basic supplies because transport and manufacturing have been so badly disrupted, so I knew I had to do something to help.
"Moving 100-plus tonnes of medical supplies between hospitals separated by thousands of miles and several borders has been an incredible team effort, and I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of my colleagues at Circle Health Group.
"They are moving heaven and earth to get help to those who really need it on the frontline, and I am humbled by the solidarity and support for my homeland.’
Ventilators, crutches, walking frames, respiratory masks, scrubs, bandages, wound kits, operating tables and other medical supplies have been stock-piled from Circle hospitals across the country and delivered directly to the doors of five hospitals covering North, South, East and West Ukraine.
Upon receipt of the urgent supplies, the hospitals distribute a portion to local community hospitals in a hub and spoke model.
A team of volunteer hauliers from the UK, Poland and Ukraine have made the journey on a weekly basis since 15 March to deliver urgent supplies, navigating their way through war-torn regions and areas of conflict to reach the hospitals in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykoliav, Odessa and Lviv.
Circle Health Group have committed to continue the weekly delivery programme for as long as the supplies are required.
The latest delivery, which departed the UK on Wednesday, 13 April and arrived at a Kharkiv hospital on Easter Sunday, contained £185,500 of medical equipment loaded on 35 pallets, including 5 ventilators, an operating table, patient monitors, suction tubing and chest drainage sets and sterile gowns.
Circle Health Group suppliers and partners have also risen to the challenge, with large donations from suppliers including Medical properties Trust, Rocialle Healthcare, GBUK Group, Intersurgical, Timesco, Chemence, Bunzl, Healthcare Supplies and Supply Chain Solutions, Purple Surgical, RB Medical, June Medical, Toffeln and Cantel.
Paolo Pieri, CEO of Circle Health Group, said: "We’re so grateful to the hundreds of people across the country who have contributed to this effort, from staff to partners and suppliers, and the brave drivers who have put themselves at considerable personal risk.
"It’s hard to know how to help in the face of such enormous suffering, but as a hospital operator and one of the UK’s largest employers we knew we could provide unique support for hospitals caring for the sick and injured.
"Working directly with Sergey and his Ukrainian medical colleagues we are able to understand their exact needs and get targeted aid to them directly in some of the most difficult parts of the country."
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