Families of Ukraine children with cancer 'cry tears of joy' as they arrive in UK

Dr Michael Griksaitis told ITV News Meridian of the parents' relief as they realised their children would receive the care they need.

A Southampton doctor supporting a mercy mission to fly children with cancer out of Ukraine says families cried tears of joy as they arrived to safety in the UK.

The children, who range in age from babies to teenagers, were all being treated for cancer in hospitals across the country when the Russian invasion started.

Doctors at University Hospitals Southampton received a phone call to say that 21 children with cancer needed treatment, and were asked to fly them from the Ukraine-Poland border back to the UK.

Michael Griksaitis, a consultant in paediatric care who was among medics helping with the mission, said: "These children and parents were utterly traumatised.

"Yes we will give cancer care to these children, but they will need an awful lot more support as well.

"When they first got on the plane, they looked tired and terrified - they didn't know what was going on and there was a language barrier.

"As we took off and we got to talk to them, we got to deliver clinical care to them, and what you saw happen was the children started to smile.

"You saw the parents get a look of relief in their eyes, that they knew their children were going to be safe, and that their children were going to have a chance at surviving this cancer now, which they wouldn't never have had, if they had stayed where they were.

"Families had tears of joy in their eyes as we hit the ground."

After receiving the initial phone call, a team of nine doctors, nurses and critical care technicians was quickly put together, along with equipment and kit from University Hospitals Southampton.

The group worked alongside Birmingham Children's Hospital who provided an oncologist to give advice on the specific cancer information, as well as translators.

Speaking about being asked to fly to Poland, Dr Griksaitis said, "We were asked because we provide pediatric intensive care transport for children all the time, but usually on a single patient basis.

"Moving 21 children initially seemed daunting, but the obvious answer was 'yes of course'.

The teams flew out on Sunday morning to collect the children, and flew back the same day.

"We only found out what children we were picking up, and how sick they were, only when we landed in Poland, Dr Griksaitis added.

"So until that point, the key word of this mission was the 'unknown.'

"The mission was incredibly successful and incredibly rewarding, and was the right thing to have done.

"Each child had a very different kind of cancer, with their own set of problems, so the level of sickness was variable.

"We also had parents with these children and their siblings, who had also crossed a warzone, so there was a variety of health needs on that plane.

"It meant we provided everything including emotional and psychological support, through to full medical support.

A triage service was provided to the children on the plane, and the children have now been distributed across various hospitals across the UK, based on the cancers they have.

 David French, chief executive officer at University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, said: “It has been heart rending to hear of the plight of these very sick children, caught up in this conflict. I and everyone at UHS is incredibly proud of the team involved in this humanitarian mission and everyone who has supported them to make it a success.”