I’m a doctor at South Tyneside District Hospital and I’m continuing to help Ukraine
A South Tyneside doctor is continuing his efforts to help his homeland of Ukraine.
Dr. Anatoliy Telpov, an Emergency Department doctor at South Tyneside District Hospital, has teamed up with local boxing clubs and FSNE Medical Group to continue supporting Ukraine.
Through these connections, the doctor, who is originally from Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine but now lives in Whitley Bay, has managed to send two frontline ambulance vehicles and a 17-seat minibus to Ukraine.
This is already on top of his several previous trips to deliver ambulances personally from the UK to the Polish border, where they are handed over to Ukrainian military representatives.
Dr Telpov has revealed that previous donations have already helped to save lives and are vital to evacuating injured soldiers from the frontline.
He said: “This is project focuses on getting evacuation vehicles directly to frontline brigades and hospitals.
“The aim is to create an efficient chain so that wounded soldiers can be quickly evacuated and reach medical care faster.
“The vehicles we’ve supplied over the past few years have already saved many lives — soldiers who might otherwise have died from their injuries. We know these vehicles make a real difference.
“It’s important that people see what’s being done - not just here in the UK but across Europe.
“Every donation, every vehicle, brings us closer to saving lives and, ultimately, to peace.”
The latest delivery includes the follows:
- A fully equipped frontline ambulance destined for a military hospital.
- A Land Rover 4x4 ambulance going to a frontline brigade.
- A 17-seat minibus, provided by Empire School of Boxing in Blyth, which will be used to move personnel and supplies near the front line.
The two ambulance vehicles have been donated by Blyth-based FSNE Medical, which is led by Craig and Melissa Douglas.
Craig commented: “This will be the third and fourth vehicle we’ve donated.
“We’ve built a great relationship with Anatoliy and believe strongly in what he’s doing to help people on the front line.
“The ambulance is a full NHS-spec vehicle with all the essential equipment, and the Land Rover 4x4 will help reach patients in hard-to-access areas.”
Margaret Welsh, from Empire School of Boxing in Blyth, added: “The bus is packed with medical supplies, baby items, nappies, food, socks — anything we could think of that might help.
“Our bus is due to be replaced and we decided we could pass this on to people who need it far more than we do.
“The people of Blyth and the wider community have really got behind this, with donations coming from other local charities and supporters.”
As well as donating vehicles and vital supplies, Paul Lysaght, from Durham Boxing Charity ‘Go the Distance’, raised almost £3,000 at a fundraising boxing show earlier this year.
Other supporters include Irene and Dzmitry Babrovich, who helped financially to fix the Land Rover ambulance and bought two large boxes of sleeping bags for the frontline brigades.
The vehicles are being driven to Ukraine by Ronnie Kane and Daniel Chapman from North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and Callum Garton from FSNE.