Finland not expecting further child patient evacuations from targeted Kyiv hospital, says health ministry

No additional patient evacuations from the children’s hospital in Kyiv are expected to Finland, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Finland had previously prepared for the possibility that requests might be made to evacuate patients from a Ukrainian hospital targeted by a missile strike.

Medical Advisor Lasse Ilkka explained that no evacuation requests had yet been received from the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) of the EU. However, preliminary discussions had already been held in Finland, particularly with university hospitals. According to additional information from the ERCC, urgent requests to receive child patients are not expected, as the necessary number of child patients seem to have been evacuated for treatment to neighboring countries of Ukraine, Ilkka said.

On Monday, Russia launched dozens of missile strikes on several cities in Ukraine. Among the damaged buildings was a children’s hospital in Kyiv. According to the Kyiv Post, there were 627 children in the hospital at the time of the attack. Eight of them were injured, and two adults were killed.

The EU’s emergency aid mechanism has been in operation for over two years. Patients of all ages from Ukraine have also come to Finland, Ilkka said. Evacuation requests are regularly received through the EU’s emergency aid mechanism, sometimes more frequently, sometimes less often. These are made from patients assessed by Ukraine’s health care system, he said.

Ilkka explains that evacuation procedures have become very routine after two years of operation. The ERCC informs member states about the types of patients that would need further treatment, then member states respond according to their resources, and the ERCC coordinates transports around Europe, Ilkka describes.

According to Ilkka, over the past two years, Finland has had more available hospital beds for evacuated patients than there have been patients needing them.

Patient transports are most often done by air, Ilkka said. Often, an escort has also accompanied the patient.