Double leg amputation for homeless and jobless Ukrainian woman

The plight of many migrant workers in Northern Ireland has been thrown into sharp relief by the news that a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman has had both legs amputated after developing frostbite on the streets of Coleraine over Christmas.

Currently being treated at Belfast's City Hospital, the woman reportedly lost her job in a meat processing plant just before Christmas and was left sleeping rough through a period of bitterly cold weather.

It is understood that she had lost contact with a group of Polish friends and spent over a week alone before being found and taken to the Causeway Hospital, where medical staff, shocked at her condition, arranged for a transfer to the City Hospital. Once there, surgeons were forced to amputate both her legs during emergency surgery.

The woman is unable to speak English, which, coupled with profound shock, has hampered attempts to elicit details of her ordeal, although it is understood that a letter has been sent to her mother in Ukraine.

Politicians and voluntary organisations from across Northern Ireland have joined together to express their horror and call for measures to ensure the tragedy is not repeated.

(GB)