Three Dundee trainee doctors “abandoned” in New Zealand say they are ready to join the frontline fight against coronavirus after securing a flight home against the odds.
Final year medical students Eilidh Martin, Harriet Greig, and Lindsay Wallace, all 23, had been stuck in Auckland after flying there from the Pacific island of Vanuatu, where they were completing a medical elective.
They had been “burning through” their savings while trying to navigate a way home amid COVID-19 enforced lockdowns across the globe.
Common stopover Singapore has closed its borders while New Zealand entered a full lockdown on Wednesday.
The UK Government’s Foreign Office (FCO) has urged all overseas Brits to return home “immediately” but the cheapest flights for the students were an eye-watering £5,000 each.
However, after two previous flights were cancelled, it was third time lucky when the Dundee University students managed to secure a last-minute flight through Los Angeles on Thursday morning.
Eilidh, who had been in Vanuatu with her two friends working since February, said they were all delighted to be coming home.
She did, however, say they felt let down by the FCO.
She said: “We felt disheartened by the whole scenario and abandoned by the FCO.
“We had no information about repatriation and, along with 1,000 other people on the embassy’s list, had been burning through all of our savings.
“We were so desperate to get home to our families and it has been extra frustrating seeing how bad the crisis is becoming at home whilst knowing that we can help.”
Eilidh’s partner Sean O’Connor had been trying to assist from Scotland.
Sean, who is a graduate of Dundee University and now lives in Inverclyde, said: “How can the FCO think it is reasonable to expect British citizens to endlessly fund living in another country?
“The students weren’t there by choice, they have been abroad since February, working without any pay, all at their own expense, in a developing country. How can the FCO just abandon them?”Mr O’Connor, who is currently recovering after falling ill with symptoms matching COVID-19, said it was a stressful time.
“I have been trying to help them as much as I can but I’m quite ill,” he said.
“It really hits like a tonne of bricks. My temperature is through the roof but, on the inside, I feel freezing.
“Every bone and muscle aches. I’m coughing away but that’s not actually that bad. It’s just a struggle to get out of bed.
“It’s really the icing on the cake but I have everything I need at home and can ride it out.
“Eilidh, Harriet and Lindsay are all desperate to get back to help fight the virus.”
A spokesperson for Dundee University said it has been in regular communication with the students and has been exploring ways to get them home.
An FCO spokesperson said: “We recognise British tourists abroad are finding it difficult to return to the UK because of the unprecedented international travel and domestic restrictions that are being introduced around the world – often with very little or no notice.
“The FCO is working around the clock to support British travellers in this situation to allow them to come back to the UK.
“The Government is seeking to keep key transit routes open as long as possible and is in touch with international partners and the airline industry to make this happen.
“Consular staff are supporting those with urgent need while providing travel advice and support to those still abroad.”
