A Welsh hospital has shown its support for war-torn Ukraine by contributing to a delivery of more than 100 tonnes of urgent medical supplies.

Werndale Hospital, in Carmarthenshire, teamed up with hospital operator Circle Health Group and employee Sergey Tadtayev, a Ukrainian doctor based in the UK, to complete the mammoth task.

In response to direct requests from Ukrainian doctors, Werndale worked with the Ukrainian doctors’ union (Ukraine Medical Association) and the British Red Cross to identify what was needed.

Meanwhile, Dr Tadtayev, pictured below, a consultant urologist surgeon in Surrey, galvanised his colleagues to gather 10 truckloads of vital kit and medical supplies from 53 Circle hospitals.

Ventilators, crutches, walking frames, respiratory masks, scrubs, bandages, wound kits, operating tables and other supplies have been stockpiled and delivered to five hospitals covering Ukraine.

South Wales Argus:

A team of volunteers from the UK, Poland and Ukraine have made the weekly delivery journey, navigating their way through war-torn regions to reach Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykoliav, Odessa and Lviv.

Circle has committed to continue the weekly delivery programme for as long as the supplies are required.

The latest delivery, which departed the UK on April 13 and arrived at a Kharkiv hospitals on Easter Sunday, contained £185,500 of medical equipment.

Loaded on 35 pallets, it included five ventilators, an operating table, patient monitors, suction tubing and chest drainage sets and sterile gowns. At Werndale, staff and doctors formed a partnership with the Voice of Ukraine in Wales, an organisation coordinating aid deliveries going to hospitals in the east of Ukraine.

Haverfordwest Golf Club Ladies team and the hospital collected items for families and new mothers within 24 hours of the first appeal for donations – 70 large boxes were collected and delivered. Werndale also donated more than £2,000 worth of medical supplies for the collection.

Altogether, the extraordinary response has seen around £1.4m of medical supplies and funds donated by Circle Health Group hospitals, staff and suppliers to date.

Circle suppliers and partners have also risen to the challenge, with large donations from 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.

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.’

Paolo Pieri, CEO of Circle Health Group, added: “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.”