Ambulance UK August 2022

NEWSLINE
AMBULANCE UK - AUGUST
“Starting a career somewhere
far away from home and within
the NHS will provide me with
so many different experiences
and I can’t wait to be part of an
amazing and unique organisation
as the NHS. I’m really looking
forward to putting my knowledge
into practice, helping patients
and meeting new colleagues and
friends. All in all, I’m just excited to
start as it’s been my dream job for
as long as I can remember!”
As well as the most recent
Australian recruits, SCAS employs
a total of 102 international staff
from 21 different countries in
frontline emergency operational
roles. Those colleagues include
staff from Finland, Germany,
Hungary, India, Japan, Poland, St
Lucia and South Africa.
EMAS
Nottinghamshire
paramedic
recognised for his
efforts to support a
Ukrainian family
A paramedic in
Nottinghamshire, who has
worked at EMAS for 15 years,
has been recognised for his
efforts to support a Ukrainian
family.
Rob Ferrol won an award at the
recent UNISON Branch of the
Year Awards for going above and
beyond in the line of duty after
helping give peace of mind to a
family in Ukraine by agreeing to
host their daughter, helping her
escape the ongoing war.
Rob and his family have been
hosting children from Ukraine
since before the Russian invasion
in February 2022, as part of the
Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline.
This is an initiative to help give
youngsters a brief respite from
the higher levels of background
Paramedic Rob Ferrol holds up his UNISON Branch of the Year Award
for going above and beyond in the line of duty.
radiation that people living
in the surround region of the
former nuclear power plant are
still exposed to following the
Chernobyl disaster of 1986.
Vlada, 17, is one of these children
who stayed with Rob and his
family on two separate occasions
before having to flee the war.
She’s from Irpin in northern
Ukraine which came under attack
and resulted in their home being
completely destroyed by shelling.
Rob said: “We have made many
amazing friends over the years
hosting children as part of the
Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline
initiative, with many we now
consider family, including Vlada.
“After hearing what had
happened, I knew I had to help
Vlada’s family to successfully get
her out of the conflict zone and
to safety.
“Both her parents are unable
to leave Ukraine due to military
commitments which is just an
unimaginable position for any
parent to be in, so I was more
than happy to be able to provide
them with the reassurance that
their teenage daughter would not
have to enter a foreign country
alone.”
Rob told Vlada’s parents to start
the journey to the Ukrainian
border before he jumped onto a
plane the very next morning to
Warsaw, Poland. On touch down,
he hired a car and drove 1,000
miles to reach the Polish/Ukrainian
border to pick up Vlada and bring
her back to the UK.
Rob said: “The journey took Vlada
and her parents two days due
to curfew restrictions and travel
restrictions and topped off by a
10-hour queue to pass through
the border.
“During this time, I ate and slept
in my hire car awaiting the family’s
arrival. It was an anxious time as
I was worried for Vlada and her
parents due to the absolutely
freezing weather conditions.
“Our beloved Vlada is a second
daughter to us and I was so
relieved when I saw that she had
made it to the border.”
Vlada and her family lived in the
countryside just outside of Kyiv
when the war began.
She said: “We didn’t think on
24 February 2022 that this was
going to be the start of a war. We
thought there would be some
unrest for a few days and then
things would begin to calm down
again so we stayed where we
were for a little bit as we didn’t
want to leave our home.
“Then the explosions started with
lots of planes with big lights flying
over us constantly. The situation
was becoming more scary and
violent.
“Kyiv became the epicentre of
the war and so we decided to
leave and stay with relatives in
a more peaceful area outside of
the conflict area. It was surreal
to experience the quiet after two
weeks of hearing explosions every
hour or so.
It was while the family were
stopping with relatives that Vlada’s
home in Kyiv was destroyed and
it was decided between Rob and
the family that it was in Vlada’s
best interests to be evacuated
from the conflict.
Vlada has now been living with
Rob and his family for the past
few weeks and is slowly adjusting
to living in the UK in the longer
term.
She said: “As a family we were
really nervous about the journey to
the Ukrainian/Polish border.
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