On June 11, the executive director of CF “Patients of Ukraine”, Inna Ivanenko, joined the panel discussion “Health as a Prerequisite for Recovery: Mental Health, Rehabilitation, and eHealth” at URC 2024 and told the international audience about the contribution of public organizations, in particular, Patients of Ukraine, to reconstruction and restoration in the field of health care.
For 13 years, CF “Patients of Ukraine” has been advocating access to healthcare for people living with severe diseases. The full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine and the war added new vectors to our work. Today, we actively contribute to recovery efforts, focusing on two major vectors: rehabilitation of HCFs and rehabilitation of patients.
We are proud that Inna presented the experience of our team at such an important event for Ukraine, so we are sharing a part of her speech with you.
“I would like to support Minister Liashko’s statement regarding the crucial infrastructural damages. We, as an NGO, have rehabilitated 46 primary HCFs out of the already rehabilitated 200, facing blackouts, a shortage of male workers, and constant air attacks. Yet we move on, not only rehabilitating each HCF but making it a hub of normal life with heating, electricity, water, and Wi-Fi. 400 primary healthcare facilities still need to be rehabilitated, and this number is constantly growing. Our rehabilitation work is funded by international partners, and this support is still insufficient.
Our second major task is the rehabilitation of patients. We work in close coordination with the office of the First Lady, the President Commissioner on Barrier-Free Environment, and relevant Ministries to develop the rehabilitation system aligned with the healthcare system of Ukraine.
Together we have already implemented numerous sustainable changes, such as digital rehabilitation documentation in the eHealth system, simplified access to Assistive Technologies, and upgrading rehabilitation units of hospitals with modern equipment.
We encourage our partners to support us:
— in developing patient pathways — from acute rehabilitation to the rehabilitation in the community;
— in standardization of rehabilitation services and quality assurance and monitoring;
— in improving formal education of rehabilitation professionals.»
We are confident that with the help of our partners, we will be able to create a better future for Ukrainian patients! 🤝
