Ukraine's Defence Minister comments on medical support for the army

Rustem Umierov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, has shared the ministry’s vision of medical care for Ukrainian soldiers, including a new state-of-the-art reintegration centre to support military personnel released from Russian captivity and the creation of an improved rehabilitation system.

Source: Rustem Umierov during the First Annual International Congress on Military Medicine and Mental Health dubbed A Warrior: Life, Health, Combat Capability, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine news agency 

Quote from Umierov: "Concerning our plans. First, [we will implement] tactical medicine training standards. Our goal is to make sure every soldier has basic self-help skills and can help others. We are developing and implementing training programs that include practical training sessions, simulations, and interactive learning materials. Every soldier has to know how to provide first aid to themselves or a fellow soldier in any situation."

Details: Umierov announced the opening of a lab that will assess the quality of tourniquets. He also outlined a new modular system of primary and secondary military health facilities, each of which will have its own staff, procedures and forms. Umierov said this will make setting up health centres in the field quicker and easier, and therefore enable appropriate medical care to be provided under any circumstances.

"As the President of Ukraine has just said, we are introducing a single standard for resourcing stabilisation centres [facilities where combat medics evacuate wounded soldiers from the front line – ed.]. We are sending thousands of soldiers to rehabilitation centres and opening a state-of-the-art centre for reintegration of soldiers freed from captivity," Umierov said.

According to Umierov, Ukraine is working alongside NATO to launch five cutting-edge rehabilitation centres for Ukrainian soldiers as part of the Renovator project.

The defence minister stressed the importance of effective rehabilitation to ensure that military personnel are able to return to service should they want to.

Umierov also talked about the new coordination centre for the management of medical resources of Ukraine’s defence forces. He said that the centre would be responsible for managing all of the defence forces’ medical resources.

The Defence Ministry’s next task, according to Umierov, is to develop training programs for combat medics in cooperation with the United States Security Assistance Group – Ukraine (SAG-U). Advanced medical training programmes will soon be introduced, including Advanced Surgical Skills, the National Association of Medical Special Operations Command in Ukraine, which will allow Ukrainian doctors to "receive full training and be prepared for any challenge".

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