The obstetrics department of the hospital being rebuilt will be converted into a geriatric ward. “This was necessitated by the situation around Kherson, where mainly elderly people remain,” explains Michał Kulpiński from PCPM.
As confirmed in a statement to the Polish state news agency PAP by the hospital's chief engineer, Andrij Viktorovych, the renovation is necessary due to the destruction caused by Russian forces during six bombings of the building.
“A missile struck the obstetrics department, seriously damaging the wall and roof. It came from the eastern part of the Kherson Oblast, where Russian troops are stationed. There were patients present during the attack, but none were injured,” Viktorovych said.
Reviving healthcare in Kherson: Polish support initiates health center restorations
PCPM plans to restore the functionality of the facility. Previously, the foundation also supported rehabilitation at Hospital No. 2 in Kherson, where physiotherapy equipment, including an ultrasound machine, was provided.
Polish Radio correspondent Paweł Pawlica shared on social media how the Polish Center for International Aid provides support in Ukraine.
Larysa Zavorodnia, the head of the rehabilitation department, noted that 113 patients use the equipment, including elderly individuals with mobility issues and prosthetics.
Thanks to Polish-Taiwanese support, a music therapy room was also established to help patients improve their memory and alleviate anxiety related to the war.
“We are not only rehabilitation doctors but also psychotherapists for them,” Zavorodnia added, highlighting the serious emotional problems faced by patients experiencing trauma from the armed conflict in the area.
Poland supports Ukraine in medical rehabilitation
The medical facility in Soniaczne, Ukraine, which was destroyed during Russian shelling, will undergo renovations starting in October with support from the Polish Center for International Aid and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with completion expected by December amid the ongoing invasion (PAP/Marta Zabłocka)
The Polish foundation plans to renovate clinics in Inzhenerne, Petriivka, Soniachne, and Naddniprianske.
Although a mobile container with professional equipment for specialized examinations was installed in Petriivka, a local nurse pointed out that “there is no doctor who could use this equipment,” illustrating the severe lack of access to specialist care in the region.
Meanwhile, the clinic in the village of Soniachne is located in a four-story building with windows boarded up with chipboards. It is necessary to restore access to running water there.
Olenа, a nurse from the region, noted that patients mainly come for “drips, injections, to get an EKG, or to participate in rehabilitation sessions.”
A doctor visits the area every two weeks, and the half thousand residents (including several dozen children) must travel about 30 km to Kherson to receive specialist assistance from an internist from Médecins Sans Frontières.
The medical facility in Soniaczne, located in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, was destroyed during shelling by Russian forces. The Polish Center for International Aid, with the support of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will begin renovations in October (PAP/M.Zabłocka)
The renovation of the clinics, carried out by the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM) with the support of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is budgeted at 350,000 PLN (€80,500), with construction work expected to be completed by December 2024.
The entire project, co-financed by the ministry, covers activities in the Kherson and Kharkiv Oblasts with a total value of 5 million PLN (€1,150,000), including the purchase of necessary medical equipment next year.
Source: PR24/PAP/PCPM
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