Cherkasy emergency service receives six new ambulances
Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Lіashko paid a working visit to Cherkasy region. The focus was on the development of the emergency medical care system and the oncological service in the region.
During the visit, the Cherkasy Regional Centre for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine received six new C-type ambulances based on the CITROEN JUMPER. The vehicles were purchased with the support of the Yurt of Unbreakable Charitable Foundation, and their total cost is over UAH 17 million.
“Strengthening the work of the emergency service is a priority task that we started working on before the outbreak of full-scale war. And it helped save many lives. We continue this work to this day and are grateful to all our partners who join in and help us. As a result of our joint efforts, emergency services across the country have already received almost 2,500 new ambulances. The vehicles that Cherkasy Oblast has received today are equipped with everything necessary to provide emergency care and will help our doctors work even more efficiently.”
The vehicles will join the fleets of emergency medical units in Mankivka, Zvenigorodka, Bagachevo, Kamyanka, Horodyshche and Veremiivka. In total, the fleet of the Cherkasy Oblast Emergency Medical Care Centre comprises 162 vehicles, including 28 off-road vehicles. In 2024, the Centre's crews made almost 195,000 call responses.
During the visit, the Minister also inspected the construction of a new building that will house the unified centralised operational control room of the Cherkasy Oblast Emergency Medical Care Centre. The project is being implemented as part of the Emergency Credit Programme for Ukraine's recovery with the support of the European Investment Bank. Currently, all the structural units of the Cherkasy emergency service are located in different parts of the city, which complicates its work. The creation of a single modern control room will significantly improve call logistics, speed up response times and increase the efficiency of the system as a whole.
“Because of the war, many people postpone medical examinations, and the issue of timely diagnosis of cancer often falls by the wayside. We are working to change this situation: we are strengthening our facilities, providing modern equipment, and expanding access to treatment. In particular, we have centrally purchased linear accelerators, and today one of them is already here at the Cherkasy Cancer Centre. Also, thanks to cooperation with Japan, the medical institution received a modern MRI machine. This is a chance for life for patients and an opportunity for doctors to work with high-tech equipment, providing the highest level of care.”
Currently, the cancer centre is reconstructing one of its buildings to develop palliative care, as the number of patients in need is growing. Thus, in 2024, almost 700 patients received inpatient palliative care and 335 patients received outpatient palliative care. The reconstruction project includes the creation of comfortable conditions for patients, including those with disabilities, as well as a rehabilitation and recreation area. The total cost of the works is more than UAH 52 million, of which over UAH 16 million is to be financed from the state budget, over UAH 8 million from the medical institution's funds, and almost UAH 28 million from the regional budget. Internal work is underway to redesign and repair wards to meet the needs of palliative care patients. Work is also underway to provide the necessary sanitary conditions. It is planned to arrange an outdoor rehabilitation area and recreation areas for patients and their relatives.
The efficient operation of the cancer centre allows us to provide medical staff with decent salaries. At the end of 2024, the average monthly salary of doctors here was UAH 41.8 thousand, of nurses - UAH 23.1 thousand, and of junior medical staff - UAH 19.2 thousand.
“The example of the Cherkasy Oncology Centre demonstrates that effective management of a medical institution is a guarantee of decent remuneration. I always emphasise that the government has set only a minimum level of salary - a basic guarantee, below which full-time medical staff cannot be paid. But this is not a fixed level. The head of the institution has the opportunity to set additional payments and allowances - taking into account the complexity of the work, its responsibility, conditions, qualifications, and results. At the Cherkasy Cancer Centre, we see exactly this approach: specialists here receive twice the minimum guaranteed salary.”
As a reminder, the Government has established financial guarantees for healthcare professionals: the minimum salary for a doctor, pharmacist and rehabilitation specialist is at least UAH 20,000, and for a nurse/nurse's assistant is at least UAH 13,500.