The Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, was in Poland yesterday to officially open the new EU Medevac Hub for medical evacuations of Ukrainian patients together with Ministers of Health from Poland and Ukraine. The hub is strategically located near the Polish city of Rzeszów, which hosts one of the closest airports to Ukraine.

The new EU Medevac Hub, financed through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, is part of a broader medical evacuation scheme launched by the European Union in March 2022. The Hub will offer a safe space for the patients arriving from Ukraine before they will be flown out to receive treatment in a hospital in another European country. At the hub, the patients will be granted 24/7 nursing care, screening for diseases, vaccination and mental health support. The hub is also designed to facilitate the work of medical personnel as they tend for vulnerable patients arriving from Ukraine. The medical evacuation scheme includes two medevac flights a week, offered by Norway, and transporting patients from Rzeszów to countries offering onward treatment.

The ongoing war is severely restraining emergency healthcare in Ukraine, while refugee inflow has put hospitals in neighbouring countries under strain. To relieve the pressure on health systems in Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia, the EU started coordinating patient transfers via its Civil Protection Mechanism to hospitals across Europe. Since 11 March, 1143 Ukrainian patients in need of medical evacuation have been transferred to 18 European countries, including Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Romania, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic. The Medevac Hub will also benefit from World Health Organization and International Organization for Migration input.

Image © European Commission