Supporting those affected by the Ukraine crisis

We are all somebody’s child, sibling, parent or partner – and the thought of our European neighbours living through such unimaginable suffering is heartbreaking. As an international healthcare company with strong humanitarian values, we couldn't sit back and watch the enormous suffering unfold. 

We care profoundly about stepping up and helping as much as we possibly can during this crisis, and we know we can provide unique support and resources for hospitals caring for the sick and injured. It’s hard to know how to make a difference from afar, but our people are all passionate about giving back to communities (near or far), so we have taken a number of steps to make a difference.

Key facts

• £1.4m in donations raised to date (donations continuing to increase)
• Transported vital medical supplies directly to hospitals in Ukraine, with over 100 tonnes of supplies sent so far across six shipments
• Sponsoring up to 500 work visas for Ukrainian refugees
• Working with Ukraine Medical Association to identify needs in war-hit hospitals
• Facilitating direct requests to doctors for urgent supplies
• Working closely with British Red Cross to create a sustainable medical supply support system

We aim to help people rebuild their lives turned upside down by this crisis in:

Creating a sustainable medical supply support system

Our incredible staff has organised for several trucks to travel to Ukraine to deliver vital medical supplies to our partner hospitals in Kharkiv and Lviv. One is a surgical hospital and the other provides cancer care to children. Both urgently needed additional supplies, so we gathered everything on their lists from our warehouse and sites and delivered them directly. Three trucks carrying over 50 tonnes of supplies in total set off from our London warehouse to make the delivery. It’s been humbling to see the gratitude from local doctors for our efforts. The surgical supplies include:

• Surgical and medical consumables
• Oxygen and airway masks and connectors
• Anaesthetic breathing systems
• Surgical trays
• Masks, gowns, aprons, and bandages
• Hygiene supplies, including sanitiser and antibacterial soap

Working with Ukraine Medical Association

In response to direct requests from Ukrainian doctors, Circle Health Group has worked with the Ukrainian doctors’ union (Ukraine Medical Association) and the British Red Cross to identify needs in war-hit hospitals, while gathering 10 truck-loads, including 200 pallets of vital kit, and supplies from across the Group’s national network of 53 hospitals.

Ventilators, crutches, walking frames, respiratory masks, scrubs, bandages, wound kits, operating tables, and other medical supplies have been stock-piled from CHG hospitals across the country and delivered directly to the doors of five hospitals covering North, South, East, and West Ukraine. Upon receipt of the urgent supplies, the hospitals distribute a portion to local community hospitals in a hub-and-spoke model.

Helping people rebuild their lives

 
We want to help offer jobs for refugees. We plan to sponsor hundreds of visas for roles in our hospitals across the country. As one of the UK’s big employers with 10,000 staff covering a wide geographical footprint, we can offer hope and a fresh start to those forced to flee their homeland. As well as clinical roles, Circle sites across the country will offer administrative, engineering, logistics, and project management positions.

Our sites are busy fundraising with the aim of raising £1 million to support the International Red Cross appeal. Over the last four weeks, with the support of our hospitals teams, our procurement team, supplier partners, and generous donations from our key stakeholders, we have now been able to send six shipments worth an estimated £1.4m and have committed to continue this support for as long as it is needed and we are able to deliver.

Mount Alvernia

Colleagues at Mount Alvernia have been extremely generous in their donations of tinned goods, dried food, toiletries, torches, sleeping bags, and warm clothing to Ukraine, in addition to the surplus medical supplies of catheters, crutches, cannulas, dressings, blood pressure cuffs, bandages, gowns, sutures, gloves, stockings and masks that were sent separately. Partnering with one of our local churches, the staff have been sent an updated list of requirements each week, which are then collected from the hospital and delivered to an aircraft hanger at nearby Fairoaks Airport. The items are then sorted and boxed up, ready to be driven in person to Ukraine.

The Meriden Hospital

The Meriden is supporting the Ukraine appeal by holding a number of events including a raffle, with all the prizes kindly donated by staff. Teams cycled to and from work for a week and completed a sponsored virtual cycle from Coventry to Ukraine using an exercise bike in the hospital reception. 

The Thornbury Hospital

Thornbury did a 48-hour cycling challenge to cover the distance from Sheffield from Kyiv, and after an absolutely monumental effort from the team, they reached the 1365 miles from Sheffield to Kyiv in 35 hours. To date they've raised £1,218 from this challenge, and their campaign continues.

Circle Rehabilitation

The wonderful team at Circle Rehabilitation have completed 1504 miles (the distance from Ukraine) to the UK, by running, walking, and cycling.

More fundraising efforts across our hospitals include:

• Ross Hall raises over £3,000
• Cannon Street fundraiser reaches £4,407
• Team Duchy Rally for Ukraine and are on track to meet their target of £7,000
• Decontamination team raises over £1,000

Support our appeal

You can help support our appeal here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/circle-healthgroup