Ukraine does not allow men between the ages of 18 and 60 to cross the border, but Ukrainian women, including female medics, are leaving. In just one week, dozens of nurses, dentists, and female doctors have declared their desire to join us, the International Medical Association in Slovakia. On the other hand, the medical staff in hospitals in Ukraine is busy, working almost without breaks and often without medical supplies and medications. Most of all, they lack bandages and suture material to treat the huge number of open wounds.
Real incidents in Slovakia
A dentist with two minor children and her friend, a childless young dentist, are looking for housing in a Slovak city with a shortage of dentists so they can practice their profession in Slovakia. However, finding housing in a city with a shortage of dentists is only one side of the coin. The other side is that our system does not allow dentists to do internships even in a region with a shortage of dentists. So it's useless to tell them that there aren't enough dentists in Detva or Krupin or Poltar; they don't even reach half the national average of dentists per capita. And even those who work there are in pre-retirement age (the average age of dentists in the Bansko-Bystrica region is 54) or pension age (one third).
Ukrainian nurses have a similar problem. A nurse with a secondary education and 20 years of experience in intensive care came to Bratislava with a sick mother and two children. She ended up taking a job as a janitor in a school facility, where she also settled down. She says she ran away to save her children and her parent.
Real incidents in Ukraine
The owner of a network of private clinics in the affected part of Ukraine (which includes more than ten clinics, hospitals and maternity hospitals) is facing an emergency situation in his hometown. He wonders how to help his more than 400 doctors, half of whom are hiding in basements or saving their families. The other half, such as surgeons and paramedics, go without breaks, sleep or rest.
Another director of a state hospital in Kharkiv tries to get at least consumables for his hospital through social media and begs, with fatigue but also determination in his voice, to send "as much as possible" of material aid.
How
We are two neighboring countries, and it is right between neighbors to help each other. We could recruit medics from Ukraine into our system with the idea that they would help us strengthen it a little bit.
We could also help surgeons in Ukraine. For example, we could send medical supplies and medicine that they need to save lives, but we could also take in soldiers for rehabilitation or chronic or disabled patients to free up hospitals for soldiers.
Today, medicines and medical supplies are desperately needed in Ukraine. And getting them is not unrealistic, we just need to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of Ukrainian hospitals.
Likewise, we need to remove the barriers that stand in the way of Ukrainian doctors, dentists and other medical personnel to Slovak hospitals.
If we help our neighbor, we help ourselves.
Real incidents in Slovakia
A dentist with two minor children and her friend, a childless young dentist, are looking for housing in a Slovak city with a shortage of dentists so they can practice their profession in Slovakia. However, finding housing in a city with a shortage of dentists is only one side of the coin. The other side is that our system does not allow dentists to do internships even in a region with a shortage of dentists. So it's useless to tell them that there aren't enough dentists in Detva or Krupin or Poltar; they don't even reach half the national average of dentists per capita. And even those who work there are in pre-retirement age (the average age of dentists in the Bansko-Bystrica region is 54) or pension age (one third).
Ukrainian nurses have a similar problem. A nurse with a secondary education and 20 years of experience in intensive care came to Bratislava with a sick mother and two children. She ended up taking a job as a janitor in a school facility, where she also settled down. She says she ran away to save her children and her parent.
Real incidents in Ukraine
The owner of a network of private clinics in the affected part of Ukraine (which includes more than ten clinics, hospitals and maternity hospitals) is facing an emergency situation in his hometown. He wonders how to help his more than 400 doctors, half of whom are hiding in basements or saving their families. The other half, such as surgeons and paramedics, go without breaks, sleep or rest.
Another director of a state hospital in Kharkiv tries to get at least consumables for his hospital through social media and begs, with fatigue but also determination in his voice, to send "as much as possible" of material aid.
How
We are two neighboring countries, and it is right between neighbors to help each other. We could recruit medics from Ukraine into our system with the idea that they would help us strengthen it a little bit.
We could also help surgeons in Ukraine. For example, we could send medical supplies and medicine that they need to save lives, but we could also take in soldiers for rehabilitation or chronic or disabled patients to free up hospitals for soldiers.
Today, medicines and medical supplies are desperately needed in Ukraine. And getting them is not unrealistic, we just need to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of Ukrainian hospitals.
Likewise, we need to remove the barriers that stand in the way of Ukrainian doctors, dentists and other medical personnel to Slovak hospitals.
If we help our neighbor, we help ourselves.
Current articles by Alona Kurotova are also available at dennikn.sk