Minister for Veterans Affairs of Ukraine Yuliia Laputina and representatives of the relevant departments of the Ministry held a working meeting with chief physician of the war veterans hospital “Lisova Poliana” Kseniia Voznitsyna, director of the Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise “War Veterans Hospital” of Zhytomyr regional council, honored doctor of Ukraine Pavlo Zhurbenko and representatives of veteran community.
During the meeting, the issues of improving the system of medical and psychological assistance to veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war have been discussed.
“The Ministry of Veterans Affairs plans to improve the state system of providing psychological and medical care to defenders. Our doctors have a unique experience, because nowhere in modern Europe, except Ukraine, the war has not lasted for more than seven years. At the same time, when it comes to restoring the health of veterans, it is important to learn from the experience of European countries and be guided by the norms that are accepted in the modern world. We want the stereotypical attitude of both veterans and the whole society to mental health to be changed,” Yuliia Laputina emphasized during the meeting.
According to her, together with the specialists of the “Lisova Poliana” war veterans hospital and the War Veterans Hospital, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs plans to develop an appropriate model of providing professional psychological support to defenders, which will facilitate their readaptation.
Yuliia Laputina also presented a project of a multifunctional rehabilitation center for ATO / JFO participants and their families, which the Ministry of Veterans Affairs plans to implement with the involvement of foreign partners.
“Unfortunately, in our society, the problem of mental health remains something that is not talked about out loud. And the veteran community is no exception in this matter. Our goal is to develop a clear mechanism in order to provide psychological support to all defenders who have returned from the war, to introduce common standards and methods,” said Kseniia Voznitsyna.
Following the meeting, the parties have agreed to continue cooperation, develop an information policy on receiving medical and psychological assistance to veterans, as well as monitoring the situation with the provision of such assistance in hospitals of Ukraine.
