A hospital in Liverpool has donated life-saving neonatal equipment to a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine.

Staff at Liverpool Women’s Hospital Neonatal Unit were inspired to act after a pregnant woman and her baby died amid Russian bombardment of a maternity hospital in Mariupol in March.

The hospital said it decided to donate neonatal equipment knowing that supplies for adult trauma care had already been provided, but that neonatal equipment specifically was lacking.

Among the donated items were feeding syringes, cannulas, and ventilators (Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust/PA)

Neonatal consultant Anna Paweletz and her team were able to identify equipment that could be sent to Ukraine, including feeding syringes, cannulas, monitors and ventilators.

Ms Paweletz said: “Many other NHS Trusts across the country had donated essential medical equipment but to my knowledge there has not been any specific neonatal or paediatric collections in our area and the majority of donations have so far been focussed on adult patients.

“Wondering if our donation would help, I contacted Medical Aid Ukraine who confirmed the charity had received several requests for neonatal equipment…so we knew this donation was much needed.”

The donations were collected by the charity Medical Aid Ukraine and arrived in Lviv on April 10.

Ms Paweletz praised the “worthy and essential effort” by her team, adding that the donations would “benefit many babies and families.”