"The golden hour" to save lives of the Ukrainian soldiers
How the medical service works in war, why the first hour after a soldier is wounded is crucial, and what is inside an evacuation car. Read our translation of the Military Television of Ukraine special
Combat medic inside the evacuation vehicle
Recently, the Military Television of Ukraine interviewed medics of the 103rd separate brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Previously, Zeilen van Vrijheid together with the Charity Foundation of Serhii Prytula donated one of our ambulances to their unit, similar to the one shown in the pictures. This story covers how medics, who have dedicated themselves to saving soldiers on the front lines, work and why the first hour after the injury is critical. You can read its translation below.
To survive, a wounded person needs an hour from the moment of first aid to his arrival at the hospital. Doctors say this is the golden rule. Sure, it happens that it requires more time, but only under the conditions of professional help at the first pre-medical and evacuation stage.
“Qualified first aid must be given to the injured soldier immediately and after that, he is brought to paramedics. We do what cannot be done on the battlefield. We have enough necessary medical supplies: bandages, dressings, breathing masks, hemostatics, and infusions. We also have oxygen and a defibrillator. We stabilize the condition of the wounded and then take him to hospitals”, - said combat medic known as Stan.
The medics put the emphasis that there should be professional pre-medical, evacuation, and inpatient care because life-saving processes happen at all of these stages.
“Fighters provide pre-medical tactical assistance to their fellows, for example, stopping bleeding by applying a tourniquet, or bandage. Then the wounded person is brought to the interception point, where a combat medic is waiting with a driver. He checks whether the bleeding has stopped or whether the tourniquet is correctly applied. If necessary, we replenish the volume of circulating blood, anesthetize or perform other necessary manipulations. And then we take a wounded fighter to the brigade stabilization point, which is located 25-30 minutes from the point of interception, or to the hospital”, - noted the head of the medical unit, Rostyslav.
Per field doctors, the most common traumas they deal with are mine blast injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds. They constitute around 90% of the total number of injuries. The most difficult cases are those when it is necessary to resuscitate the wounded who have already lost their limbs. “Recently, two fighters in critical condition were brought to us. One had no lower limbs, there was a lot of blood loss, and we thought that it was the end, we would not be able to deliver him to the hospital in time. But we have managed to stabilize and transport him with satisfactory pressure and pulse. It is not so easy to do, because there are some peculiarities of giving medical help in a vehicle. Intravenous access should be accomplished before the car starts moving and hitting the road. It is difficult to do this operation in a car that moves through the field. But to put a tourniquet, or to connect to a catheter, to introduce an infusion solution, we already learned how to do it on the way”, - Stan shares the features of the rescue. Such work is very strenuous, so the driver of the evacuation vehicle plays an important role in this process. He also undergoes pre-medical training, knows all stages of the first examination, and is involved in saving the lives of Ukrainian defenders.
Evacuation car of the 103rd separate brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
"Our vehicle is comfortable, but in terms of cross-country ability, of course, it is not an SUV to drag into every mud. But if it is necessary, then of course we go there. If there are hard-to-pass places on the way, then everything depends on the driver. It is essential to adequately evaluate whether it is possible to pass an obstacle or not. Because if I get stuck, the injured person will not receive help. At such moments, the situation must be assessed immediately. I have to see everything in 360 degrees: what is happening in the car and outside, what road lies ahead, and also listen to the medic because at any moment he can ask me to stop to inject medicine into a vein. It cannot be done on the move. In addition, if there are too many wounded and the medics cannot cope, then we, drivers, help those who are lightly wounded", - says the driver of the evacuation car codenamed Koval.
Although the car is planned to evacuate one wounded person, more people are usually carried to the hospital in it.
Inside the evacuation vehicle of the 103rd separate brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
"Frequently, we transport one seriously wounded and one or two lightly wounded who can be carried in a sitting position. If there is a large number of seriously wounded, we get in contact with the battalions and additional vehicles come to help", - said the head of the medical unit, Rostyslav.
Combat medics work under the threat of injury. UAVs are hunting for ambulances. A few times, this vehicle got under fire but was lucky to escape. The occupiers are trying to destroy as many ambulances as possible so that medics cannot save Ukrainian defenders.
Source: https://cutt.ly/YVygh0n