Doctors from across the NHS have been gathering medical kit, drugs and equipment to take to Ukraine.

A convoy of cars, trucks and ambulances will start the long drive from London to the Poland/Ukraine border on 10 March, carrying tons of much needed stock donated by hospitals, GP surgeries and drug companies.

Once there, some of the medics will start deploying their skills in field hospitals in the war-ravaged country while others help those in refugee camps in Poland displaced by the conflict.

Organised by Medical Aid Ukraine, a newly formed group of doctors from across the UK who are collecting donations from hospitals, GP surgeries and drug companies, the initiative will ultimately seek to help fellow Ukrainian medics tend to those suffering from gunshot wounds, smoke inhalation and burns.

The initiative is headed by Dr Roman Cregg, a specialist in pain management at University College London hospital, who was born in Lviv, near Ukraine’s western border. His trust has already donated boxloads of supplies including surgical masks, gowns and gloves. As with many hospitals’ donations, most are stocks that have expired or are close to expiry or are no longer needed because Covid has ebbed.

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “I am incredibly proud of the work being done by our colleagues, and it speaks to the courage and kindness displayed by NHS staff on a daily basis that so many are going above and beyond, either by helping to coordinate deliveries of supplies or providing medical support on the ground.”