Attack on Okhmatdyt children's hospital: everyone in operating theatres rescued, toxicology ward destroyed

The Russians have struck the toxicology department of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital, where seriously ill children were undergoing dialysis.

Source: Operations were underway at the hospital at the time of the attack, Health Minister Viktor Liashko said during the national joint 24/7 newscast on 8 July.

Quote from Liashko: "We managed to rescue everyone in the operating theatres and intensive care units. We are calmly bringing them down, and the children are being moved in coordination with the Kyiv Emergency Medical Service. Priority is being given to those who are on artificial lung ventilation, who need oxygen, or who need electricity to stay alive."

Update: The acting head of the critical care unit told hromadske that during the air-raid warning, the children were in the basement and the Okhmatdyt medical staff stayed in the corridor.

Patients, including those in intensive care, are now being evacuated, as there is no electricity, water, or oxygen. They are being moved to all Ministry of Health hospitals in Kyiv.

Quote: "Work on dealing with the aftermath of the attack is ongoing. We can see the building where the toxicology department used to be, where children were on dialysis and where the lab was. The State Emergency Service is helping us here, as they were the first to start clearing the rubble. After a certain period of time, we will know who was evacuated by ambulance and who could potentially be under the rubble.

All department heads are working. We have operational staff in place, and we will report everything. The main thing is not to panic and help save as many lives as possible," the health minister said.

Some of the doctors have been injured and are receiving medical attention.

Quote: "The main task is to save lives. Then the specialists will see what can be preserved. We have a network of all the hospitals that are ready to free up certain intensive care beds so that doctors can work at other institutions if they cannot work here," the minister said.

Update: In the initial version of this news piece, we reported that people had been killed and injured in the toxicology department. We have now corrected this. When asked about the number of people injured and dead, Viktor Liashko said: "There is information, the number is constantly changing. Unfortunately, I can't give you the numbers right now." He did not indicate that he was talking about fatalities in the toxicology department. The Ukrainska Pravda. Life editorial team apologises for this error.

Background:

• On 8 July, the Russians launched about 40 missiles of various types on Ukraine and attacked the Okhmatdyt National Children's Specialised Hospital.
• Okhmatdyt, in Kyiv, is the largest children's hospital in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Okhmatdyt has not stopped a single operation, and in the early months, it was constantly treating injured people regardless of age.

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