How Ukraine will rebuild hospitals Russia destroyed
The hospitals and other medical facilities destroyed or damaged as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine will be rebuilt in accordance with each region's specific needs.
Viktor Liashko, Ukraine's Minister of Health, told journalists during a press conference on 8 May that the capacity of each region’s healthcare network will determine the order in which medical facilities will be rebuilt.
According to Liashko, rebuilding Ukraine’s healthcare infrastructure is part of the Health Ministry's strategy for the coming years.
"We will take into consideration the hospital’s location and the capacities of each region's healthcare network when we rebuild [medical facilities in Ukraine]. We won't build something like an Okhmatdyt [Ukraine's largest paediatric hospital – ed.] in place of a destroyed paediatric department in some district in Chernihiv, Sumy or Kharkiv oblasts," Liashko said.
The health minister added that quickly restoring healthcare facilities that only sustained minor damage, and primary care centres, is currently a top priority.
The ministry is also planning to purchase medical equipment to treat oncology patients.
"Strokes and heart attacks are a priority for us, there were already a lot of [people suffering from them], and since the beginning of the war those patients are coming in younger and their number will keep rising.
There is also the oncology issue: Covid-19 and the war made early detection and diagnosis less likely as fewer people undergo regular checks. We know that we will now be detecting cancer more often and at later stages," Ukraine's health minister explained.
He added that the Ministry of Health will launch an online tool displaying information about the costs, budgets, sources of funding, and construction requirements for each healthcare facility that needs to be rebuilt.
Previously: Liashko urged doctors to treat patients in accordance with official protocols, and reminded hospital managers to install and use new equipment in a timely manner.
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