The ambulance won't take patients to the nearest hospital: the government has changed the rules for patient transportation.

Starting from January 2025, ambulance teams will transport patients with severe conditions to specialized facilities instead of the nearest hospitals. Not all hospitals are equipped with the necessary resources, so this decision aims to optimize assistance and save precious time for critically ill patients, as explained by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has made corresponding changes to the Procedure for the functioning of hospital districts and clusters and their boundaries, reported on the Ministry of Health's website.

According to the Cabinet's decision, from January next year, emergency medical service routes will be coordinated with the Ministry of Health.

The Cabinet has approved changes to the Procedure for the functioning of hospital districts and clusters and their boundaries. Starting January 2025, the routes for emergency medical transportation will be coordinated with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, which will promote more effective delivery of medical services.

"For many years, there has been a practice where ambulances transported patients to the nearest hospital. However, the nearest hospital does not always have the necessary resources, specialists, and equipment. Consequently, both the patient and the doctors lost valuable time. Severe conditions such as stroke, heart attack, or polytrauma require urgent medical intervention. This issue was one of the reasons for creating a capable network of medical institutions," said Ukraine's Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko.

Ambulances will take patients to clearly defined medical institutions equipped for effective treatment, the minister noted.

He also added that the new logistics will include not only municipal hospitals but also other healthcare institutions that fall under the Ministry of Health. Among them will be higher medical education institutions, the National Academy of Medical Sciences, and the State Administration.

"This means that well-known medical institutions, such as the Heart Institute or the Feofania Hospital, will now be accessible to everyone. Accordingly, they should also be included in the routes," explained Lyashko.

Recall that on November 1, paid ambulance calls were introduced in Lviv. The press center of the multiprofile Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital reported that an emergency team can be summoned regardless of the patient's condition for 1,000 UAH within the city, and for 2,005 or 4,010 UAH outside the city, depending on the distance. For certain categories of patients, the call is free of charge.

Additionally, on November 1, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a bill to eliminate the MSEC. The government stated that a modern digitized system would be created in its place.