Ukraine: more mobile clinics near the front line

The Polish Medical Mission is running a number of projects to help people in the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. One of these is the mobile clinics, which began operations last August. Qualified medical personnel have so far traveled around the Kharkiv region in two cars fully equipped with medical equipment. This type of relief work has proved very successful in the war-torn lands across our eastern border. Due to reported needs, the medics' activities will expand in the coming months. A third mobile clinic will undertake its mission in the Sumy region, and in addition, a mobile laboratory will be put at the disposal of those in need to help with expanded patient diagnostics.

- In the towns to which our clinics travel, previously present clinics or medical centers have disappeared," says Marcin Choinski, coordinator of the mobile clinics project on behalf of the Polish Medical Mission, " Patients tell us that in wartime conditions, doctors coming to their towns is a salvation for them. A trip to Kharkiv for a basic check-up is now like a trip to the other side of the world.

For some patients, the arrival of the clinic is the first opportunity in years to verify their condition and adjust their treatment according to their progressive disease symptoms. Medical visits were hampered first by the Covid-19 pandemic and then by the war. In the first phase of mobile clinics, more than half of the patients were over the age of 65. The most common problems were neglected chronic diseases, hypertension, musculoskeletal disorders, and diabetes. Regular visits to smaller towns in eastern Ukraine make it possible to distribute medicines and control disease outbreaks that may emerge and spread in the region.

- In addition to medical care, our patients also needed a simple conversation, and often shared their life problems with the doctors. Therefore, in addition to doctors, nurses and a pharmacist, a psychologist will now begin his work in Ukraine," adds Marcin Choinski of the Polish Medical Mission.

The situation in Ukraine remains very difficult. According to UN estimates, 14.6 million people will need humanitarian assistance there in 2024 - one in five of them a child. Unrelenting attacks continue to damage or destroy medical facilities, and depleted household incomes are causing people to start saving on their health as well, such as forgoing the purchase of hard-to-reach medicines.

So far, the mobile clinics of the Polish Medical Mission have traveled a distance of 25,729 kilometers, and their medical team has worked a total of more than 3,520 hours during this time. Nearly 5,000 patients have received assistance.

Source: press release