Poland: EU opens medical evacuations hub to facilitate transfers of Ukrainian patients
Picture-alliance/Pacific Press/B. ZawrzelToday, the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, is in Poland to officially open the new EU Medevac Hub for medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients together with the Ministers of Health of Poland and Ukraine. The hub is strategically located near the Polish city of Rzeszów, which hosts one of the closest airports to Ukraine. The new EU Medevac Hub, financed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, is part of a broader medical evacuation scheme launched by the European Union in March 2022. The hub will offer a safe space for the patients arriving from Ukraine before they are flown out to receive treatment in a hospital in another European country. At the hub, the patients will be granted 24/7 nursing care, screening for diseases, vaccination and mental health support. The hub is also designed to facilitate the work of medical personnel as they tend for vulnerable patients arriving from Ukraine. The medical evacuation scheme includes two medevac flights a week offered by Norway, and transporting patients from Rzeszów to countries offering onward treatment. Commissioner Lenarčič said: “The number of wounded people in Ukraine grows every day, and hospitals already short in supplies are struggling to keep up with the needs. At the same time, the destruction of healthcare facilities deprives chronically ill patients of the treatment they need to survive. We cannot abandon these people. In response, the EU steps up its medical evacuation operations of Ukrainian patients with a new hub near Rzeszów, Poland. The Medevac Hub will play a key role in transferring the patients swiftly to hospitals across Europe. I want to thank all countries who have offered to accept the patients from Ukraine and help save their lives. This is a true example of EU solidarity.” The press release is available online.
