Hampshire Air Ambulance donates medical supplies to Ukraine
The items have technically expired but are still safe to use
£5,000 worth of life-saving medical equipment is on its way to the Ukrainian frontline.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA) has donated the gear, including syringes, gloves, bandages and breathing tubes.
UK legislation says they can't be used here because they're out of date even though they're still safe to use.
The life-saving charity has assembled pre-packaged boxes containing a vast array of medical supplies, including syringes, gloves, breathing tubes, blast dressings, swabs, bandages, forceps, blood giving sets and ventilator circuits. Two of the boxes contained purely paediatric items.
In addition to the boxes, four old syringe drivers have also been sent to the frontline, bringing the total valuation of the items up to around £5,000.
The charity says that although many of these items remain perfectly suitable for use, UK legislation dictates that it is unable to use them in real life settings once they have past the expiration date.
It adds that much of this kit can only be ordered in quantities of hundreds, whereas they may only use 20 per year, and so there is inevitably a modicum of items that go beyond the expiration date yet will prove invaluable to those risking their life in the ongoing conflict.
The items were transported to Poland by World Extreme Medicine, where they are sorted and distributed to the areas in Ukraine where they are most needed. It is expected that the boxes may have already hit the frontline, having left the charity’s airbase in Thruxton, Andover, at the end of 2023.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Administrator, Aly Targett, who was pivotal in leading this project on behalf of the charity, said:
“I am extremely pleased that we have been able to donate to World Extreme Medicine and provide much needed medical equipment to the people of Ukraine. We generate an unfortunate, but inevitable, number of expired items.
“As soon as I realised this option was out there, I felt sure that we could help. It is a great solution for everyone. We are so grateful to our supporters, who are now enabling life-saving missions in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and in Ukraine’s towns and cities.”