Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance has donated emergency medical kit that can no longer be used in the UK to the Ukrainian military fighting on the frontline.
The life-saving charity has assembled several 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, some of them for use on children.
Four syringe drivers have also been sent to the frontline, bringing the total valuation of the items to around £5,000.
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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 passed 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 some items that go beyond the expiration date but 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.
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services Administrator Aly Targett, who led the project, 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.”
She added: “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.”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, which has a headquarters in Nursling and an air base at Thruxton, near Andover, is an independent charity that brings an advanced critical care team to the most seriously ill and injured patients, giving them the best chance of survival and recovery.
Medics effectively bring the hospital to the patient 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
It costs £15,000 a day to maintain the life saving service.
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