A team of healthcare professionals and supporters have raised thousands of pounds after cycling from the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) to County Galway.

The team included doctors, nurses, emergency medicine practitioners, an optometrist, radiographers and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) paramedics as well as supporters from the community.

Dr. Hadi Hassanzadeh, although based in England, regularly works in the SWAH's Emergency Department (ED), and organised the cycle to raise money for two important causes – the SWAH ED, and relief for those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Dr. Hassanzadeh said: “It was a great achievement; we all got back safe and sound. Everyone wants to do it again and we want to do it on a larger scale next year – I think it will turn into a legacy [event].”

Explaining the thought behind the fundraising effort, he said: “This was my idea initially, as I bike ride a lot and just love Fermanagh, and thought I could do something a bit longer and turn it into a challenge and raise a few quid for charity!

“With the idea in my head, I asked if anyone else wanted to join, and thought it would be nice to have a local charity and a bigger charity [or cause to support], the local charity being where I work in the SWAH ED, and it would be used for training for our nurses and healthcare assistants to upskill them or do training courses.

“When I was organising initially, around March, Ukraine was a very hot topic, so I thought we could raise some money for Ukrainians, and instead of sending it over there, we’re going to use it for Ukrainians who have come over to here, so we can see what they need."

Explaining his dream outcome for the money raised if logistics allow, Dr. Hassanzadeh said: “We would really like, if possible, to use the fundraising to train some Ukrainian healthcare workers to our standard, and they can fill gaps in the healthcare system.”

The team completed the challenge of cycling 170 miles over three days. They departing on day one from the SWAH to Sligo; then on day two they cycled from Sligo to Westport; and finally, on day three they cycled from Westport to Galway.

Grateful for all of those who helped with efforts, Dr. Hassanzadeh wished to thank Wendy Watson for her support with fundraising and getting the wheels in motion for the cycle challenge.

He also thanked Barry Palmer and all of those from NIAS who fed and watered the cyclists through the bike ride: “The paramedics from NIAS did a lot of crew work, and drove a van with our bags and prepared lunches.”

The participants have been blown away from the money raised. Dr. Hassanzadeh said: “More than £7,500 has been raised with donations still coming in. We weren’t expecting it – I thought we would get a few hundred quid!

“People are really keen for it to be in an annual event, and we had a few teachers who found out about it when we were doing a fundraiser in Asda who don’t work in the hospital, and they joined us.”

Dr. Hassanzadeh plans to make the cycle from SWAH an annual fundraising event for people to take part, with new charities being selected annually through a process of nomination.

If you would like any further information about the future cycles, you can leave a message or note for Dr. Hassanzadeh via the SWAH ED reception.

If you wish to donate to the fundraiser, you can do so by visiting https://tinyurl.com/89f2tt5e.