IRELAND HAS EVACUATED 13 Ukrainian people, including five soldiers who were injured in the fighting, as part of a European Union-wide aid strategy.
The Department of Health and the HSE told The Journal that the plan was part of a broader Irish State plan to show “solidarity with the people of Ukraine”.
So far the plan has mostly focused on people with long term needs such as cancer care but Ireland has also recently begun treating some of the Ukrainian fighters injured in combat.
It emerged on Sunday evening that five Ukrainian soldiers had been flown to Ireland by air ambulance for treatment at hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway. The transfers were the first time that soldiers had been brought to Ireland from the conflict.
The Department of Health has confirmed that the evacuees treated in Ireland so far had been taken from Ukraine, across the Polish border via Przemysl to Rzeszow, an hour inland.
Przemysl is the main train hub arriving from Lviv and Kyiv into Europe and is located 10 kilometres from the Ukraine border. The Journal has reported from the area in recent months and documented the flow of tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainian refugees.
The patients are then evacuated from Rzeszow via the airport which has also been a major hub for weapons and medical aid destined for Ukraine.
EU response
Irish agencies working in consultation with their EU counterparts include the HSE, Department of Health, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Department of Defence and the Air Corps.
The arrival of the injured soldiers is a contribution to the EU’s response to the conflict, and is being carried out through an agreed EU protocol coordinated through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) – a group which deals with EU wide disaster relief.
“Ireland’s overall medevac capacity is limited, however providing this assistance is an expression of solidarity with Ukraine and neighbouring countries and this contribution is recognised by these countries and at EU level.
“The overall EU response to medevac requests from Ukrainian patients has to-date been very strong and, with many other EU member states also carrying out medical evacuations of civilian and military patients in need of urgent care,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health said.
The Department confirmed that the five Ukrainian soldiers travelled from Poland to Ireland.
“These five were patients from the EU’s military medevac list meaning that they are war-wounded and in this case they are categorised as soldiers.
This is the first-time patients from the EU’s military medevac list have been transferred to Ireland. Previous patients transferred were not military related but instead were typically patients whose ongoing care in Ukraine had been interrupted by the crisis, for example patients receiving cancer treatment.
It is Ireland’s position that patients on the military medevac lists circulated by the EU (war wounded patients including soldiers/combatants and also civilians) can be reviewed and supports offered where capacity allows – in the same way as other medical evacuation cases.
The Department of Health spokesperson said that the medical military evacuees are stable but suffering with “significant trauma related injuries”.
“The HSE is working with agencies and Departments to coordinate the wide range of supports required for these patients in addition to direct healthcare, including translation, and an accommodation and living plan for these evacuees following discharge from hospital.
“These patients will require significant support and care on their rehabilitative journey,” the spokesperson added.
The Department spokesperson explained that the medical evacuation is only one part of the broader State assistance offered to Ukrainians.
“This assistance provided by Ireland to Ukraine and neighbouring countries is one part of the health sector response and the wider national response to the crisis.
“People fleeing conflict in Ukraine are granted temporary protection status. Under this measure, they are considered ordinarily resident in Ireland for a limited time period and therefore are entitled to access health care services, in line with other refugee groups and Irish citizens.
“A huge effort is being coordinated across government to ensure Ukrainians arriving in Ireland have access to the services and supports they need including health services,” the spokesperson added.
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