Update on medical humanitarian support to Ukraine - 1 April 2022

Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, and Minister of State with responsibility for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, Colm Brophy, have welcomed significant additional donations of medical humanitarian support which have shipped to Ukraine this week. The HSE (Health Service Executive) delivered these donations in close collaboration with Medical Help Ukraine (a group of Ukrainian doctors in Ireland). Transport was facilitated by Lifeline Ambulance Services.

In addition to urgently needed medical consumables, PPE and 9 fully kitted ambulances previously dispatched to Ukraine, on Saturday 26 March, a first container of urgently needed medical equipment donated by the HSE was sent to Ukraine, with 3 further shipments completed during the week. In total, this donation included over 3,600 items consisting of a range of critical care devices including life support, diagnostic, therapeutic and infant care together with a range of consumable devices.

In addition to the donations of medical equipment, on Monday 28 March, a consignment of 18 pallets of pharmaceutical items were dispatched to Ukraine, supplied from HSE stocks.

The HSE and Department of Health are currently planning further donations of medical supplies and equipment.

These donations are just one aspect of the response of the Irish health sector to the Ukraine crisis and a part of the extensive Irish government response:

Ireland is supporting emergency patient care and medical evacuation of Ukrainian patients. Two medical evacuations to Ireland have already been completed as part of a coordinated EU response through the European Civil Protection Mechanism and collaboration between the HSE, the Department of Health, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Department of Defence. Two Ukrainian paediatric patients and their families have arrived in Ireland over the last ten days and were transferred for treatment in CHI Crumlin and Cork University Hospital.

Both of the aero-medical missions were conducted by a joint Irish Air Corps and National Ambulance Service’, Critical Care & Retrieval Service operation. The missions were coordinated from the Aero-Medical Dispatch Service, located within the National Emergency Operations Centre, Tallaght.

Ireland continues to offer medical evacuation transport to Ukraine and EU neighbouring countries to support access for patient for urgent medical care. Ireland will continue to offer its support and assistance as required by our EU partner health systems.

It is a priority for the Department of Health and the HSE to ensure that Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland are provided with appropriate health and social care services (as of 31 March 2022, there are 16,891 Ukrainian refugees, 9,814 of whom have sought emergency accommodation).

The interim HSE health service support model is in operation at Dublin Airport and other ports of entry. This model provides for:

• immediate medical assessment/ provision of prescriptions for existing conditions
• management of minor ailments and first aid requirements
• identification of immediate complex health issues which require pathways into secondary acute or community services

In addition, a simplified and streamlined medical card application process is in operation for Ukrainian refugees.

For Ukrainian refugees placed in emergency accommodation, the HSE has put in place a framework which ensures provision of specific GP services and access to prescriptions. In addition, Safety Net are providing GP clinics to facilities located in Dublin, 23 such clinics took place last week. GP out of hours services are accessible as required. Enhanced translation services are in place and this information has been shared with all health services including GPs.

The HSE has issued public health guidance to inform local service response models. It has also established a dedicated webpage on access to healthcare services in Ukrainian and Russian.

Minister Donnelly said:

Minister O’Brien said:

Minister Brophy said:

Ireland is providing medical items to Ukraine in response to the formal requests for assistance received through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage) is coordinating the communication of these supplies through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, working with the Department of Health, the HSE, Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs and others. This support from Ireland is part of the coordinated effort by EU Member States currently underway to provide a collaborative humanitarian response following requests for assistance from Ukraine. Within the EU this response is led by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.

The medical evacuations of Ukrainian citizens to Ireland have been made possible through the support of the European Civil Protection Mechanism and coordination efforts of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Defence. Transport has been provided by the Air Corps.

The donations above are the latest in a series by Ireland over the last month, Ireland has been providing donations of medical assistance to Ukraine in response to the requests for assistance from the Ukrainian authorities received through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). Previously, Ireland has dispatched a number of life-saving items to Ukraine including the following:

• 4,026 blood bags (supplied by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service)
• over 60,000 items of Personal Protective Equipment, including masks, protective body suits and sanitisers
• 12 pallets of consumables including bandages, syringes and needles
• 9 National Ambulance Service decommissioned ambulances, full kitted out and ready to use