Published December 23, 2024 at 10:58 AM
Domestic. Since the war started, Sweden has received a total of 211 patients from Ukraine as part of the EU's coordinated medical evacuations.
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– Wars and conflicts cause enormous suffering and put innocent people in very vulnerable situations. When we care for patients here in Sweden, the Ukrainian healthcare system is relieved and more resources are freed up to care for acutely war-wounded patients,” says Björn Eriksson, Director General of the National Board of Health and Welfare in a press release.
During the three years of the war, nearly 3,800 patients have been evacuated from Ukraine to 22 different European countries, and Sweden is the seventh largest recipient country.
In Sweden, many of the patients have been cancer patients, which requires long-term care, as well as soldiers with severe shrapnel injuries who need advanced specialist care and rehabilitation.
The evacuations are coordinated by the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and are part of the Union's civil protection mechanism. In Sweden, the Ukrainian patients are distributed between the country's seven university healthcare regions, adapted to the care capacity of each region.
At the same time, Sweden continues to assist Ukraine with significant material support. Over the past three years, the National Board of Health and Welfare has sent protective equipment, ventilators and medical supplies in several batches to a total value of over 60 million kronor.
Björn Eriksson emphasizes the importance of the efforts:
– Ultimately, this is about contributing and helping Ukraine, where healthcare has been in a very difficult situation for a long time.