Langford humanitarian group delivers medical supplies and fire rescue equipment to Ukraine

Medical supplies brought to Ukraine by the Langford humanitarian group are shown. (CTV News)

As the Ukrainian hospital system becomes overwhelmed with wounded patients, a small humanitarian group from Langford, B.C., is doing what it can to help in a big way.

"My primary focus was to get the badly needed medical equipment and supplies to Ukraine," said Bob Beckett, organizer of the humanitarian group.

Bob Beckett and Ravi Parmar travelled to Ukraine with 18 bags full of humanitarian aid.

Much of that aid includes medical supplies, such as bandages, gauze, braces and life-saving medical field kits destined for the frontlines of war.

The items were purchased through community donations and with help from another Canadian non-profit, WUNDERfund.

In a hospital just outside the city of Lutsk is a hospital where 80 per cent of the patients are wounded soldiers.

"Broken bones is the most common trauma that they come here with," said the head surgeon at the hospital.

In order to fix those types of combat injuries, pins are often needed to set into the patient's bones. That is why the Ukrainian Health Authority made a special request from the group for specialized orthopaedic drills.

"It will also shorten the time of recovery and the healing process," said the surgeon.

The drills are nimble, meaning more surgeries can be completed throughout a given day, easing the backlog in operating rooms.

Three drills were donated by the Langford group, but still, health authorities in Ukraine say more are needed.

In June, the Langford team visited a fire hall in a community that has an unemployment rate of 75 per cent amid the war.

That department was severely underequipped to effectively do its job, not even having a proper ladder.

"We did make a commitment to them that if they would provide us with a list of equipment, we would do our best to try to respond," said Beckett.

Beckett, a retired Langford fire chief, and the rest of the humanitarian team responded in a big way, bringing along donated bunker gear and helmets. A Jaws of Life tool was also donated but still needs to be shipped to the hall in Ukraine.

The Langford group also helped raise $25,000 to donate to the fire department.

"So that they could purchase exactly what they were looking for," said Beckett.

Workers there say the fire department is now better equipped to provide proper fire service to its community, while surgeons have new tools to provide quicker, better care to soldiers wounded on the frontlines.