The Ministry of Health of Ukraine will set up a mobile hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 in the Palace of Sports in Kyiv, Viktor Liashko, deputy health minister and chief sanitary doctor, said in a Nov. 2 interview with the Segodnya news site.
Liashko said that the ministry ordered state company Medical Procurements of Ukraine to analyze prices for the equipment and then the ministry will allocate funds to open the hospital. The ministry is currently preparing calculations and the requisite legal documents for the hospital.
According to Liashko, there are several technical requirements for such hospitals.
“These are hospitals that must be set up in adapted premises with heating, ventilation and sanitation. That is, these are large areas where beds are placed so that there is a large block system where it will be possible to supply beds with oxygen, to provide intensive care units and rooms for medical staff,” Liashko said.
Asked whether the ministry had doctors, beds and equipment for such a large facility, Liashko admitted that it didn’t.
However, the ministry “knows how much equipment is on the market, where and how to buy it,” he said.
The problem isn’t the equipment, but the lack of medical staff, Liashko said.
Earlier, at a briefing on Oct. 30, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said that a temporary hospital for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 might be set up either in the Palace of Sports or the VDNH exhibition center in Kyiv.
According to Stepanov, the hospital will be able to treat 500 patients and 1,200 medical specialists will be engaged in the treatment process.
The Kyiv authorities say they need Hr 245 million ($8.5 million) to set up a temporary hospital.
The temporary hospital will not be the only new measure to help treat COVID-19. On Nov. 2, the Ministry of Health launched a round-the-clock national coronavirus contact center since regional hotlines are stretched to their limits. Employees will advise people on questions about COVID-19 and organizational issues related to their treatment.
The phone number is 0-800-60-20-19.
According to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov, there are 52,000 hospital beds in Ukraine for treating COVID-19 patients. As of Nov. 1, 26,593 of them were occupied by patients diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19.
