The two medicalized trains in Ukraine have already transferred more than 1,800 patients since the war began

"

. Along with two colleagues, one in charge of intensive care and the other of those hospitalized with less serious illness, we assessed the condition of the patients to accommodate them in the corresponding cars.

On a normal day, we used to leave Lviv train station around 10am or 4pm at the latest.

We collected our backpacks and when we got to the train we had a small meeting with the team of doctors, nurses, and the train staff in charge of maintenance and equipment.

, a town very close to the city of Donetsk.

During the outward journey, we prepared the beds to receive the patients, we held meetings with the staff on a specific topic that we wanted to reinforce, everything depended on the time of departure.

When there were barely three hours left to reach the Pokrovsk station, we met again with the entire team to give them information on the number of patients we had to pick up, under what conditions,

, if any were more candidates for enter intensive care, if there was a bulk of patients who were older adults or pediatric..."

This was the day-to-day life of Guadalupe García, a member of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team, while she was working for several months on the medicalized train in Ukraine and who has told EL MUNDO her experience.

Guadalupe García, together with two colleagues, treats a patient from PokrovskAndrii OvodMSF

Until September 20, 2022, Doctors Without Borders has transferred 1,811 patients

and 78 orphans from an orphanage

Both trains are equipped with the relevant medical equipment to guarantee medical attention to those injured and affected by the conflict.

Patients are transferred from hospitals in the front area to the western part of the country to be hospitalized and treated.

In this way, they also decongest the hospitals in the cities most affected by the war.

All this work has been awarded this Thursday, October 6, by the Mapfre Foundation, who has presented in Madrid the award for

to Doctors Without Borders for the medicalized train in Ukraine.

Paula Gil, president of Doctors Without Borders Spain, thanked the organization's more than 63,000 professionals around the world, and especially "

", which he has described as "great injustice" and a "failure of humanity".

Why use two trains to assist and treat patients on board?

"The idea came about for two reasons. On the one hand, because the railway lines were still fully operational within Ukraine and had not received too many attacks. And on the other hand, because during Covid-19, France used trains to transport patients from saturated hospitals to quieter areas. So it was decided that it could be a

, "explains Raquel González, MSF coordinator in Spain.

The first medicalized train made its first trip on March 31.

This allows the transfer of about

, together with their companions, who require

and health that is strong enough to endure the 24-hour journey without the need for medical intervention.

Inside the train there is a team made up of nine health professionals, including doctors, nurses and psychologists.

48 patients evacuated from KramatorskMaurizio DebanneMSF

The second train, which was activated on April 24, is intended for those who need more specialized medical care.

Its capacity is

, along with their companions, and it has, like the other train, eight wagons and a locomotive.

The

, of which two are for level 3 intensive care patients, that is, they need 60 liters of oxygen per minute.

There are

for less severe hospitalized patients, and another

and companions.

In addition, the train has a car with specific equipment for the production of oxygen, a car with an electricity generator and a car for medical equipment.

The rehabilitation of the trains has been carried out entirely by the Doctors Without Borders team.

"We have a whole series of protocols in terms of buying quality material and measures, in addition to warehouses. We have a very large one in Bordeaux and another in Belgium. If that material is not on the local market or from adjacent countries, we pull the material that we have in these large logistics centers," says Raquel González.

Sources located on the ground affirm that

.

HOW ARE PATIENTS SELECTED?

Hospitals and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health identify the medical structures most stressed by the conflict and

.

Once the needs of each of the patients have been defined, a place is sought for them in one of the hospitals in Lviv and kyiv.

When the specific train station where the embarkation is going to take place is known,

.

However, MSF has launched an

, thus facilitating the transfer.

Finally, before boarding the train, they undergo a final health assessment.

"Together with one of the doctors,

When it came to boarding them, we had to decide the priority of each one of them to accommodate them in the different cars according to their medical situation," he recalls. Garcia Dr.

The eastern areas most affected by the conflict are the cities of

.

The vast majority of transferred patients come from 11 hospitals in these cities near the front line in eastern and southeastern Ukraine.

"The cities of delivery and collection of patients change with the needs, but normally we pick them up in the east, in cities like

. Then we drop them off in the west and center of the country, in cities like

", tells, Emilie Fourrey, coordinator of the MSF medical evacuation train from the field for EL MUNDO.

The MSF coordinator in Spain states that there are

in the country, of which 80% are Ukrainian nationals and 20% are international staff.

"The criteria for choosing the team are to adapt the human resources necessary for the type of activity that is carried out. In this specific case, when we start working, as it is a dynamic project, medical personnel, nursing personnel , psychologists... and then all the support staff," he clarifies.

According to Fourrey,

, as well as people from all over Urania.

Among the trips that were made between March 31 and June 6, a total of 653 patients were transferred from the areas most affected by the conflict, according to figures provided by Doctors Without Borders.

More than half of the transferred patients (355) were directly injured by the actions of the conflict, the vast majority of whom were injured by explosions.

.

MSF team waits to transport sick and wounded patients from PokrovskAndrii OvodMSF

Luckily, as Emilie Fourrey recounts,

at any time: "There is a coordinator in charge of security who exchanges information from time to time with people located in other locations to find out if power plants have been destroyed or if there has been a bombardment on infrastructure.

. We collaborate directly with the Ministry of Health, which controls the senders."

In addition,

and

.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Ukraine

• War Ukraine Russia