But there’s also a need for vans, minibuses and pick-ups, which, being four-wheel drive and much more rugged, can travel further towards the front lines than road-biased ambulances.
But while Brake has a solid and trusted source for ambulances, “it’s harder to find reliable pick-ups”, he told us. “At the moment, we’re buying them at auction, and it’s very much pot luck what we get. I want to appeal to companies operating large fleets of vehicles like pick-ups.”
Brake would take donated vehicles, but they need to be reliable enough to make the journey and still have a useful active life when they arrive. By the time many companies are ready to dispose of pick-ups for nothing, they can be beyond that.
“We want access to buy [vehicles] directly from fleet operators,” said Brake. “We know they will be better maintained.”
If you are or know one of these operators, you can follow the link below, or email me directly and I will pass on your details to Brake.
Uliana Kovalyshyn, project manager for the CMAU, travelled to London from Lviv last week. “Support like this has become priceless for us,” she said, noting that 173 medical facilities have been destroyed and 1218 damaged since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.
