Agata Kornhauser-Duda visited the Ukrainian medics at the state-run Military Institute of Medicine (WIM) on Thursday, the presidential office said.
In October, the Polish first lady and her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska launched a programme of experience-sharing between Polish and Ukrainian medical staff, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
To date, some 90 doctors and other medical specialists from Ukraine have completed courses in aeromedical evacuation and comprehensive medical care of burn patients in Poland, according to officials.
In the latest part of the project, Warsaw's Military Institute of Medicine will train 100 Ukrainian medics in rehabilitation of war-injured patients and the diagnostics and treatment of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the PAP news agency reported.
Kornhauser-Duda said: “I’m enormously grateful to the institute's directors, to all the doctors, physiotherapists and nurses, for welcoming their colleagues from Ukraine.”
She added: “This project came about as a result of my trip to Lviv, where I visited the Municipal Clinical Hospital. Staff there told me about a big need for various courses for doctors.”
Rehabilitation of war victims
The Polish first lady watched as Ukrainian medics received practical training in the rehabilitation of war-injured patients, according to officials.
Afterwards, physiotherapists from Ukraine shared their thoughts and experiences in the treatment of victims of war, including first aid and support with the rehabilitation process, the PAP news agency reported.
Kornhauser-Duda told the course participants that their time in Poland “facilitates the exchange of experiences and the creation of Polish-Ukrainian relations based on expertise, which will bear fruit in the future.”
Photo: KPRP/Przemysław Keler
Treatment of PTSD
The Polish first lady also talked to psychiatrists and psychologists from Ukraine, who are being trained in the diagnostics and treatment of PTSD, the presidential office said.
Course participants told Kornhauser-Duda about the toll that the Russian invasion was taking on the mental health of Ukrainians, including civilians turned into soldiers, veterans suffering from war trauma and social isolation, and families concerned about the fate of their loved ones on the frontlines, according to officials.
The Military Institute of Medicine in Warsaw has been training Ukrainian specialists in the treatment of war trauma and PTSD since 2014, the PAP news agency reported.
Friday is day 450 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, prezydent.pl