An NHS doctor who missed the last UK evacuation flight out of Sudan says she feels ‘betrayed’ amid fears more medics have been left behind.
Dr Einas Mohamed said she was not given enough time to reach the airfield before the final government-arranged flight departed the troubled country from Port Sudan on Wednesday. The 35 year-old was only notified by email at 1am that morning.
“I worked throughout the pandemic, I caught Covid three times and I didn’t see my family for eight months,” she told the i newspaper. “I was doing my duty, I was saving lives. Now I feel stressed, depressed and betrayed.”
There are fears that other NHS doctors may also be stranded after the last flight left. The British Medical Association announced on Tuesday nine doctors were unable to make it to the evacuation points over the weekend, raising concerns they remain stuck in the country as fighting escalates between Sudan’s military and rival paramilitary the Rapid Support Forces for control of the country.
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As of Thursday morning, it was not yet clear how many, if any, of the medics had managed to board the Wednesday flight.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has said “no further British evacuation flights will operate from Port Sudan” in updated guidance on its website.
Dr Latifa Patel, BMA Representative Body Chair, said the BMA is “continuing to call on the government to ensure that no one is left behind”.
“We have heard reports that nine NHS doctors, who were unable to make it to the evacuation points over the weekend, remain stuck in the region,” Dr Patel said before the flight on Wednesday.
The union said the doctors’ ability to make it to the evacuation points at the Wadi Saedna Air Base and subsequently at Port Sudan on the weekend was hampered by the dangers of the journey as well as the short notice.
Dr Patel said: “It is important to highlight that late decision-making, combined with approximately 12 hours' notice, made the situation far more challenging than it needed to be. This put our NHS doctors and their families’ lives in avoidable further risk as they made the perilous journey to the Wadi Saedna Air Base and subsequent evacuation from Port Sudan.”
The UK government initially only allowed British passport holders and their families onto evacuation planes in Sudan. However, amid growing pressure, it said on Monday NHS workers and their dependents who have leave to enter the UK are now allowed onboard. The decision was announced just hours before what was then being billed as the last UK airlift from Sudan took off on Monday evening.
Dr Patel added: “Moving forward the BMA will continue to put pressure on Government to ensure that there is a rapid, effective response in future emergencies.”
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted on Tuesday that 2,341 people have been evacuated on 28 flights. He wrote: “The last UK flight is expected to leave Port Sudan tomorrow. I urge British nationals still wishing to leave the country to go to the Coral hotel in Port Sudan and continue to follow our travel advice.”
A UK government spokesperson said: “We made the decision to extend the evacuation criteria to include eligible non- British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the NHS, and their dependents who have leave to enter the UK.
“We are able to offer this increased eligibility thanks to the efforts of the staff and military who have delivered this evacuation – the largest of any Western country.
“We have made repeated efforts to contact those who may be eligible.”
“We continue to work intensively, alongside international partners, to maintain the ceasefire and bring an end to fighting – the single most important thing we can do to ensure the safety of British nationals and others in Sudan.”
