Whilst Londoners have been donating money, organising solidarity marches, and gathering supplies to help the people of Ukraine during the Russian invasion, a little piece of London has made it all the way to Ukraine. It’s been revealed today that the London Ambulance Service has delivered ten reconditioned ambulances to the country, all filled with medical supplies that will help provide crucial care to the people of Ukraine.
Where the ambulances once answered emergencies in Kensington and London Bridge, they’ll now be tasked with helping people from Kyiv to Lviv. Fully refurbished to provide emergency care, the vehicles were driven a distance of 1100 miles across three days, with 26 volunteers from the London Ambulance Service undertaking the journey. In eastern Poland, the ambulances were handed over to the Polish Ambulance Service, who then drove them the remaining few miles across the border into Ukraine.
With the vehicles and the medical supplies within them safely delivered, six of the volunteers stayed on at a refugee centre in Lublin, Poland, and bought and delivered aid items to refugees arriving from across the border. They arrived back in the UK very recently, and having returned to work, volunteers such as Senior Sector Clinical Lead Eva Bartovska said “The journey was worth every mile. I’m so glad that we did it and that we stayed to help.”
Meanwhile, London Ambulance Service’s Chief Executive Daniel Elkeles revealed that 300 staff members had signed up to volunteer, and added his hope that “these vehicles and supplies make a small, but real difference caring for those affected by the war.” So, not only have these ambulances and paramedics done amazing work on the streets of London, but they’ll now be doing wonderful work to serve people affected by the conflict in Ukraine.