Pryncyp

Foreign service members have the same rights as Ukrainian service members regarding medical care, both in military and civilian healthcare facilities. Treatment is free of charge; however, if necessary, a service member may purchase medications at their own expense.

During treatment, communication between the service member and their military unit is very important for proper documentation and receiving payments. This may be handled by a support unit (if available in the brigade), or by medical service chiefs, combat medics, or HR officers with the assistance of interpreters. It is necessary to maintain contact with your immediate commander by sending them all documents received during treatment.

You should keep all documents with you during evacuation and treatment, as they may be needed later to obtain benefits and statuses.

The injured person is transported to the nearest field medical unit for first aid. The immediate commander is informed of this. If the condition requires further treatment, doctor refers the injured person to a healthcare facility outside the military unit’s location. This may be a field hospital, a military hospital, or a civilian hospital.

During evacuation, the injured person’s weapon, body armor, and other personal protective equipment are taken away. All of this is transferred for safekeeping to responsible personnel in the subunit. If you were unable to retrieve your weapon from the battlefield, it is considered lost.

You bear no legal or financial responsibility for the loss of weapons or equipment due to injury.

Healthcare professionals complete a primary medical record for the injured person (official name: Form No. 001/o). This is an official document confirming that medical care was provided prior to hospitalization.

The record is usually maintained electronically, but in combat conditions, when there is no access to equipment, it may be completed on paper.

The record is completed by healthcare professionals in Ukrainian.

Important! Be sure to check how your first and last name are recorded in the document. In practice, errors are often made when transliterating foreign names into Ukrainian, which may complicate document processing.

Depending on how you arrived at the hospital, you may have one of two documents with you:

After hospitalization, inform your immediate commander as soon as possible about your location and the date of hospitalization. Formally, the hospital is supposed to do this, but due to the large number of injured personnel, in practice this often does not happen. The best way is to send a message via a messenger app with photos of your medical documents.

Obtain a certificate of injury circumstances (injury, post-concussion syndrome, mutilation) (official name: Form 5)

This is one of the most important documents you will need. Without it, or if it contains errors, it will be impossible to receive the payments you are entitled to. 

To obtain the certificate, you need to contact your commander and ensure that they have submitted an injury report and a report-memorandum to the unit headquarters. The military unit must prepare the certificate of injury circumstances within five days of the injury and send it to the hospital within the same period.

The certificate records:

At the end of treatment, make sure that the hospital has officially informed your military unit of your upcoming discharge. Additionally, inform your commander yourself and send them your discharge documents.

After discharge:

It is recommended to take pictures of all documents and store them on your phone and in cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud, etc.). Documents may be lost, and their copies may be needed later to receive payments or resolve legal issues.

When returning to your military unit, you must have documents confirming your treatment. If you do not have tickets or if other circumstances delay your return, immediately inform your commander.

You have the right to receive treatment in private clinics. However, two conditions must be met:

How to arrange treatment in a private clinic:

During treatment, you may be transferred from one hospital to another. This may occur at the initiative of medical management, for example, if another hospital has the necessary equipment, specialists, or if the current hospital is overloaded.

You have the right to initiate a transfer, but it is not an obligation of the doctors or the military unit, so your request may be denied. Therefore, prepare in advance:

Treatment abroad is carried out through the MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) program and is completely free. Transportation for you and your accompanying person is organized and funded by Ukraine and the receiving country.

1. Check whether your injury qualifies for treatment abroad by consulting a specialist doctor. To do this, consult with a relevant specialist physician.

2. Undergo a Military Medical Commission (MMC or VLK in Ukrainian)

This is an official medical board that determines whether a service member requires long-term treatment abroad. Its decision serves two important functions:

Ensure that a copy of the MMC`s (VLK’s) decision is sent to your military unit.How to obtain a referral to the Military Medical Commission:

3. Document processing. The entire process of preparing documents for treatment abroad is initiated and coordinated by the hospital where you are receiving treatment. You must sign a consent for treatment and the transfer of medical information.

After four months of treatment abroad, you must undergo a remote repeat Military Medical Commission (MMC/VLK) to confirm the need for continued treatment and maintain payments. This is regulated by the relevant legislation.

Your military unit must notify you of this no later than one month before the end of the four-month period.

What you need to do:

Obtain a discharge summary and recommendations for further treatment or rehabilitation. Notify the following people about your recovery and readiness to return:

They will assist in arranging your return.