St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno has been treating Ukrainians for four months via its “UA Point”, which contributed to the treatment of more than 400 Ukrainians. Photo credit: FB – St. Anne’s University Hospital
Brno, June 27 (BD) – For the last four months, St. Anne’s University Hospital in Brno (FNUSA) has been running UA POINT, a primary health care clinic for people fleeing war-affected areas in Ukraine. The department of general practitioners that runs the clinic has treated more than 400 Ukrainians in that time.
“Initially, we faced operational, staffing, organisational and communication problems. We had to adjust our office and working hours, none of us spoke Ukrainian, perhaps some of the older doctors spoke more or less Russian,” said Ivana Bogrová, head of the Department of General Practitioners at FNUSA. It was therefore necessary to provide UA POINT with interpreters to translate the registration and examination process.
Ukrainian patients most often came with back pain, headaches, joint pain, and internal diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, and diabetes. “In particular, we place great emphasis on epidemiological history, vaccination checks, and establishing whether the patient had been hospitalised in Ukraine in the previous year, to prevent the spread of communicable diseases,” added Bogrová.
The ambulance service’s problems mainly stemmed from a misunderstanding of UA POINT’s function. It is supposed to offer help in acute cases and only until the patient finds a GP or specialist.
“However, more and more often, Ukrainian patients who have been living here for a long time and have not found a doctor are also coming, or patients who require various non-acute examinations. Other misunderstandings occur in connection with the absence of gynaecological, paediatric and psychiatric departments in our hospital,” said Bogrová.
However, despite the occasional barriers and difficulties, she summarised the approach of the whole department: “It is challenging, but one thing is certain. The situation of Ukrainian refugees is much worse, and that is why we are trying to help them. I’m sure none of us would trade places with them.”
