First medevac from Poland to Sweden completed
Due to the large number of people fleeing Ukraine at present, Poland has requested that Sweden and other EU countries assist by providing medical transports and accepting sick patients. A medical evacuation to Sweden was carried out yesterday. MSB carried out the operation in close collaboration with the National Board of Health and Welfare and the coordinating health care region, Region Östergötland.
MSB was given the assignment in response to a request for support within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, where MSB is the Swedish contact point. This entails, among other things, that MSB receives requests and offers necessary assistance to affected countries. In this case, the patients require specialist medical care and will receive treatment in Sweden.
– The transport went well and MSB found a good solution in close cooperation with the actors involved. We jointly activated Svenskt Ambulansflyg (Swedish Municipal Air Ambulance Association) to enable the operation, says Lina Forss Karlsson, project manager at MSB's Operations Department.
Additional requests possible
MSB has a mandate to regularly collaborate with the National Board of Health and Welfare and provide supplementary medevac resources whenever regional airborne medical transport capacity proves insufficient.
– Everything worked well, and we are now considering further opportunities to assist in different ways. We may receive more requests, given the security situation in Europe. Our resources can be made available so long as the regions can accept additional patients at hospitals in Sweden, Lina Forss Karlsson adds.
The operation is one of several tracks in the joint support provided by EU countries to Ukraine and countries currently hosting the greatest numbers of refugees.
National and international cooperation
Through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Ukrainian authorities have requested coordinated assistance from EU Member States, including fire-fighting equipment, vehicles, medical supplies, and tents.
Strengthening actors by providing skills and equipment is one of several important elements in MSB's operational mission. In connection with the war in Ukraine, MSB is providing support to, for example, UNHCR, while also dispatching our own staff and equipment, including a medical team, containers of fire-fighting supplies, tents and generators.