Boris Johnson partners with private hospital in Milton Keynes to launch Ukraine appeal

Boris Johnson has teamed up with The Saxon Clinic in MK to launch an urgent appeal for medical supplies for Ukraine hospitals.

He’s warned that the medics face running out of vital items such as bandages and defibrillators within weeks without donations.

The war has seen hospitals in Ukraine pushed to breaking point, with supply chains and buildings decimated. Doctors on the ground have been appealing for urgent assistance, and Saxon Clinic, alongside the Circle Health Group’s other 54 hospitals, has come to their aid.

Over the past eight months, nearly 300 tonnes of medical supplies worth £3m have been delivered in 13 lorry loads across Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Lviv and Kherson since war began.

Boris visited the Enfield warehouse where supplies from The Saxon Clinic are gathered to see first-hand the logistics of transporting hospital kit in bulk across Europe by lorry.

Accompanied by the Ukrainian Ambassador, he was briefed by Ukrainian doctors helping to co-ordinate relief efforts. And the former prime minister helped to load the latest lorry with hospital beds and anaesthetic machines.

He is now urging to give generously to the appeal here.

“The Great British public are renowned for their generosity of spirit - even when times are tough at home - so I’m calling on them to dig deep this Christmas and help send hope to the heroic Ukrainian medics battling to save lives by supporting Circle Health’s vital humanitarian mission.”

Boris added: “ Not one bandage or bed you fund will go to waste in the Herculean task of rebuilding beautiful, brave Ukraine. Slava Ukraini: the British people stand with you, this Christmas and always.’

A team from the Ukrainian Medical Association, working with Circle Health Group in the UK, liaises directly with medics to inform Circle Health Group about hospitals’ stock shortages in real time.

Items are then gathered from each of Circle’s hospitals across every region of the UK and sorted and loaded at their Enfield warehouse. Dedicated employees volunteer to drive the loads across Europe right into war-torn areas of Ukraine.

Items delivered to date include hundreds of wheelchairs, crutches, scrubs, bandages, ambulances, operating tables, hospital beds, ventilators, anaesthetic machines and prosthetics.

The Saxon Clinic has made a renewed commitment to continue supporting Ukrainian medics for as long as the crisis continues.

Paolo Pieri, CEO of Circle Health, said: ‘It’s so easy to get caught up in problems at home and become immune to the immense hardship facing people in Ukraine. As a fellow hospital operator, we are determined to stand with these Ukrainian hospitals for the long-haul. As Winter sets in, new medical supplies have never been more vital, and we hope our regular shipments will help show this remarkable group of doctors that they’re not alone.’

A spokesperson for The Saxon Clinic, said: ‘Everyone at the hospital has been moved by the terrible events unfolding in Ukraine we and the community in Milton Keynes are proud to renew our commitment to medical colleagues in Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Lviv and Kherson.’