Ukraine to launch project providing veterans with long-term medical care
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a joint project by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, and the National Health Service of Ukraine on long-term medical care for veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The program aims to provide continuous care and rehabilitation for defenders who need ongoing medical, psychological, or social support.
The relevant project was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health, as reported by Censor.NET.
What does the project entail?
This involves expanding the capacity of healthcare facilities to provide long-term medical care to defenders of Ukraine who, due to injuries, trauma, or serious illnesses, require ongoing medical, rehabilitation, and social support.
Who will be covered by this project?
These services will be provided to patients whose functional status, according to the Barthel Index (a standardized tool used in medicine to assess a person's level of independence in everyday life), is 30 points or less.
The introduction of the program will enable veterans to receive the following services:
- conducting an initial assessment of the patient's functional status using standardized scales (Barthel, Karnofsky) to determine the level of dependence on outside assistance, with subsequent monitoring at least once a week and corresponding results recorded in the medical documentation;
- observation and support of the patient (treatment, examination, diagnosis, preventive examinations) taking into account the patient's health status, existing chronic diseases, data from the patient's medical record, involvement of other necessary specialists for consultation with an indication of the frequency of their visits;
- daily monitoring of the patient's health, control of medication intake, prevention of complications and infectious diseases, effective pain relief, elimination or alleviation of other symptoms of the disease, care for bedsores with appropriate notes in the medical documentation;
- ensuring hygiene and balanced nutrition (including improved enteral nutrition in accordance with the specific needs of the patient);
- providing supportive rehabilitation and psychological, social, and spiritual support;
- ensuring continuity and consistency of medical care;
- supporting the patient's comfort and physiological needs;
- providing assistance to close relatives or legal representatives of patients in organizing home care and teaching self-care skills.
It should be noted that services will be provided to veterans completely free of charge — the cost to healthcare institutions will be covered by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU).
How the project will be financed
The experimental project is being implemented using funds allocated in the general fund of the state budget under the budget program "Measures to support and assist war veterans, their families, and the families of those killed in action."
The fee for one cycle of care will depend on the patient's functional status, which is assessed on this scale for at least 28 calendar days:
- for patients with high dependency (20 points or less), the rate is 5,452.52 hryvnia;
- For patients with moderate dependence (21 to 30 points), the rate is 3,484.30 hryvnia.
Project implementation
Currently, the National Health Service of Ukraine is already working on the implementation of the project — developing the necessary documents, conditions for the participation of medical institutions, and the procedure for reporting on the provision of long-term medical care services to veterans. Once these documents have been approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, the selection of healthcare institutions that will provide such services within the framework of the project will begin.
