A TEESSIDE doctor from Ukraine has helped raise more than £6,000 to help relief effors in his war-torn homeland.

Vladyslav Vovk has been working with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to collect a haul of medical supplies which are  being shipped to Ukraine. 

The doctor, who lived in Ukraine as a child, has family living there – including an elderly grandmother and a cousin who is a doctor in a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The NHS Trust has collected items desperately needed in field hospitals including beds, swabs, catheters, breathing equipment, sutures, dressings, bandages, gowns and cutters.

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It has also raised more than £6,000 since launching a fundraising page earlier this month.

Dr Vovk said: “Thank you to everyone who has helped so far! It means so, so much.

“All of these supplies will go towards helping those who desperately need it.

“It is distressing to see the situation the country is in – my grandmother lives alone, my cousin works in very dangerous conditions in a hospital, innocent people all over the country risk their lives every day.

“And the situation continues to escalate – tragically I fear our help will be needed for a long time to come.

“Our response so far makes me so proud to work at North Tees and Hartlepool and live among such generous people.”

He is working as part of a regional group of doctors – Medical Aid Ukraine North East – to raise funds and supplies and transport to the Polish-Ukrainian border.

The group is a local branch of the Medical Aid Ukraine charity.

The trust’s subsidiary company, NTH Solutions, has organised the collection of supplies.

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Katherine Chapman, trauma and orthopaedic supplies lead, said: “At times of tragedy it is so easy to feel helpless.

“Seeing what was happening, I knew there must be more we could do to help and support the people of Ukraine.

“By sourcing medical equipment, bandages, PPE that has expired we have managed to provide a large amount of items we hope can help.”

To donate to the trust’s fund, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/UkraineNTH

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