The Ministry of Health has published instructions on obtaining medical evacuation for Ukrainians affected by the war.

Who conducts medical evacuation?

Medical evacuation is coordinated by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in cooperation with the European Commission and is carried out with the support of international partners: the government of the Republic of Poland, the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, Medical Mission Charitable Fund, as well as teams of doctors from Poland, Germany, and other countries.

In total, the Ministry of Health has already ensured the evacuation of 1,200 Ukrainians who needed specialized medical assistance.

Categories of patients for whom treatment abroad is recommended

First of all, medical evacuation is carried out for Ukrainians who have:

• complex mine-explosive injuries requiring highly qualified medical care;

• patients who received significant burns;

• children and adults with oncological pathology requiring highly qualified treatment;

• children with rare diseases.

Medical evacuation program

The algorithm for obtaining medical evacuation consists of 10 points:

1. Decision regarding the medical evacuation of a patient is made by the family doctor based on the relevant order of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, at the first stage, it is necessary to consult your doctor. It is worth noting that for patients who do not have contact with their family doctor due to hostilities, the Ministry of Health has developed an alternative way of submitting a request for evacuation - for this, you need to fill out a questionnaire on the website of the Ministry of Health in the survey section. After sending the questionnaire, the applicant will receive feedback.

2. The family doctor transmits information to the regional medical evacuation coordinator, who in turn sends the necessary medical reports to the Ministry of Health.

3. After checking the data and approving the medical evacuation, the Ministry team informs the patient about the medical evacuation route.

4. After receiving the patient's consent for medical evacuation, the Ministry of Health sends a corresponding request to the emergency response system of the European Commission.

5. On the special Early Warning, Alert and Response System (EWARS) platform, the Ministry of Health receives proposals from European hospitals regarding the readiness to receive a patient and provide his treatment.

6. The medical evacuation coordinator and doctors coordinate the route of safe transportation of the patient.

7. The emergency medical service of the Ministry of Health, with the support of international partners, transports the patient to hospitals in the Lviv region. Here, the patient receives preparation for further medical evacuation - collection and translation of documents, medical assistance.

8. At the next stage, the sick Ukrainian is transported abroad with the help of medical transport.

9. The Ministry of Health of Ukraine continues to receive information about patients using the EWARS platform - the route of movement of the patient and other additional information.

10. After completing the treatment, the patient can return to Ukraine. For this, it is necessary to apply to the Consulate or Embassy of Ukraine in the country where the treatment was carried out.

Each request for medical evacuation is considered separately by a special commission at the Ministry of Health. Usually, preparation for evacuation takes from 3-4 days to 2 weeks.

Transportation and treatment of the patient as part of medical evacuation is carried out at the expense of international organizations and countries receiving patients. In Ukraine, treatment is financed by the National Health Service of Ukraine within the framework of the Medical Guarantee Program.