An Inverness medic has rushed to Ukraine after receiving an SOS call from a UK charity.
Andy Kent, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at NHS Highland, has been helping with the humanitarian response to the unfolding horrors in the east of the war-torn country.
When he was asked to go to Ukraine, Mr Kent was already on a mercy mission in the Yemen with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He returned to Inverness for two days before heading to be based in Lviv.
He said: “I had only two days at home before packing some cold-weather kit and heading back to Dalcross to fly to Krakow in Poland and onward by road to Lviv in western Ukraine, arriving on Tuesday, March 8.
“Our recce – or assessment – team comprises of a team lead from UK-Med, myself as surgical lead, a medical lead and a logistics expert.
“Together, our remit has been to get “eyes on the ground” and a real-time feel for the evolving situation. ”
‘Dozens of agencies are pouring in’
Mr Kent said efforts were being made to coordinate the aid pouring in from around the world, which is adding to the ongoing challenges.
“There are literally dozens of aid agencies pouring into western Ukraine from all over the world and the coordination and control of these is a real challenge,” he said.
“Fortunately the WHO and United Nations (UN) have oversight of this and are slowly organising everyone to pull in the same direction.”
Mr Kent described Lviv as a “beautiful city” a few hours away from the main war fighting in the east but admitted the atmosphere is strange.
“Air raid sirens regularly go off, especially at night, although no one pays them much attention,” he said.
“Recently bombing of local military bases have taken place and this has clearly increased tension.
“A significant percentage of the population – mainly the elderly, women and children – have left the city and crossed the border to Poland and beyond.
“They have been replaced by other IDP’s heading from east to west and by an influx of humanitarian workers.
“There is therefore a disproportionate number of males who under martial law are unable to leave and expected stay and protect their homeland.
“Almost every person I have spoken with has passionately stated that they will stay and fight the Russian invaders ‘at all costs’.”
‘We have tended to ignore the Ukraine for several years’
Mr Kent is in the country to find out what support is needed to make sure people have the best medical care.
He added: “Fortunately, the Ukrainian medical and military medical services are extremely well-prepared for this conflict and have a significant reserve of hospital resources standing by in anticipation of any influx of casualties.
“In the wider world, we have tended to ignore that there has been an ongoing war in eastern Ukraine for several years and that consequently, their military medical services have considerable experience.
“Subsequently, we at UK-Med, and most other humanitarian medical teams, will be concentrating our resources in central and western Ukraine providing primary health care such as paediatrics, maternal health, geriatric and infection control to the hundreds of thousands of IDPs who have collected in this area.”
After finishing his assessments, it is hoped Mr Kent will return home to Inverness, and Raigmore’s surgical department.
UK-Med, which is self-funding its work in the Ukraine, has launched a national appeal for support. Visit www.UK-Med.org to help.