The European Union has been coordinating regular medical evacuations of chronically ill and injured Ukrainian patients since the start of Russia’s war against the country, the European Commission said on Monday 15 January.
To date, more than 3,000 Ukrainian patients have been transferred to European hospitals for specialist treatment through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. Launched in March 2022, this is the largest medical evacuation operation to date coordinated by the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre.
Patients have been transferred for treatment to hospitals in 22 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The evacuations are also supported by the EU’s Medevac hub in Rzeszów, Poland, where patients receive nursing care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The hub serves as a transfer centre for patients who have been transported from Ukraine to Poland by land and who, from the hub, will be flown to hospitals throughout Europe. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)