​

After forming a group together during the Covid crisis, a team of selfless NHS staff from Bolton decided to travel to help out with the ongoing war in Ukraine on their own accord.

​

Marta Roscoe, the 37-year-old NHS Coordinator at Wythenshawe Hospital, banded the set of various healthcare members together whilst they worked alongside each other performing Covid vaccinations for the Trust.

​

Those joining her on the effort will be Nursing Sister Louise Crossley-Birch, Vaccinator Janette Butterworth, Mental Health Nursing Assistant Michelle Piercy, and Paediatric Intensive Care Nurse Nikki Forshaw-Mahon.

​

With the group finishing their placements at the end of August at the vaccination centre, the NHS professionals decided to aid those in need during the Ukraine war against Russia, especially when “people still need help” Marta said.

​

​

She added, "We have people here with so much experience - we have intensive care and leukaemia nurses. I thought to myself, 'How can we get together to do something wonderful?' I persuaded my nurses to come with me to Ukraine.”

​

“"We have been signed to help people by organising workshops - teaching people, both soldiers and civilians, how to do blood transfusions and how to do dressings, we are self-funded people and we would like people to support us.”

​

Finishing on the fact this is purely their choice, saying "The NHS does not send us - we are doing this absolutely for free and we are using our holiday entitlement. We are really nice, compassionate people and we are united. We felt responsibility for people in Ukraine - most of the nurses are retired, they are high up nurses that were in charge - and they said yes, of course we will go."

​

The dedicated squad have chosen to return to help out again at a later time in the year with all of the support they’ve received so far with the first trip.

​