Ukraine is mainly in need of surgical and orthopaedic care. Photo credit: Marie Schmerkova, Brno City Municipality.
Prague, Oct 19 (CTK) – The Czech Defense Ministry can provide care for up to 35 wounded Ukrainian soldiers in its hospitals, and these military hospitals have treated nine such soldiers so far, the ministry said on its website.
Ukraine is mainly in need of surgical and orthopaedic care.
Since the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine on 24 February, six Ukrainian soldiers have been treated in Prague’s Central Military Hospital (UVN), and three in the Military Hospital in Olomouc.
Ukraine’s need for healthcare is still huge, and surpasses the total capacity of Czech military hospitals many times over, the ministry wrote.
“If it were to happen overnight, we would take care of 22 people. Nevertheless, we are ready to accept more soldiers. We offer up to 35 [hospital] beds over a longer time span,” said Deputy Defence Minister Filip Riha.
UVN can earmark two beds on the surgical ward and two on the orthopaedic ward.
The Olomouc Military Hospital can provide four beds for patients with arm or leg wounds, three beds at follow-up intensive care and three on the rehabilitation wards.
The Brno Military Hospital has five surgical and three orthopaedic beds at immediate disposal.
Based on an agreement from early February, the soldiers should be chosen for treatment by Czech military doctors, who cannot themselves enter the territory of a foreign state during war. For this reason, medical reports have been presented to them by the Czech military attaché in Ukraine and the doctors select concrete patients for the Czech Republic to accept.
“Depending on the diagnosis, the decision is made whether the patient needs air lifting or road transport,” Riha said.
Ukraine is mainly interested in surgical and orthopaedic treatment and in the follow-up care for and rehabilitation of the soldiers who previously underwent surgery in Ukraine, the ministry wrote.
It said Ukraine is in charge of the related administration. “The financing has been defined by the agreement from this February. The [patients’] transport to the Czech Republic has been secured by us, as have been the treatment expenses,” said Riha.
