The medical and social expert commissions in Ukraine have been finalizing their work in recent months. They are set to be dissolved by the end of the year following major corruption scandals. Journalists from ZAXID.NET visited the Lviv Regional Center for Medical and Social Expertise, located at 5 Boy-Zhelenko Street, to speak with people in line.
Among them is Ostap. He volunteered for the war at the age of 23. Last August, he was injured in Kreminna, hit by three enemy bullets in the knee, shoulder, and head. Now, the defender is waiting for a decision from the MSEC. He began the process of obtaining disability status back in February.
“I have been going through the military medical commission and MSEC since February. This could be done differently, simplified. Because I have to go through the military medical commission every month to get a leave. Why make the guys run around? For instance, I go through the commission, they give me a month’s leave, and then I have to go through it again, and this happens four times. I don’t understand the purpose of this system. I have a titanium implant in my head, and half of my body is almost non-functional. They probably expect that something might change in a month. I thought the MSEC process would be harder. But it all happened quickly, there were long lines, but my experience was fast,” explained defender Ostap.
Regarding corruption in the MSEC, he states that he has not personally experienced it.
“We know that corruption exists. It’s sad… It’s sad that some take and others give. We fight, but for some, it’s a war, while others are doing their own thing,” Ostap adds.
Mykhailo Kityk is also waiting for a decision from the MSEC. The soldier sustained a mine-blast injury in September of last year near the settlement of Dibrivka. He lost a leg, suffered fractures in his arms, had a ruptured abdomen, and shrapnel in his chest.
“As for the MSEC, everything was quick. Perhaps because I have a leg amputation, and that’s enough to get a second group. So I entered, they reviewed the documents in 10 minutes, looked at the X-ray, and told me to wait for the decision,” said defender Mykhailo Kityk.
The defender also believes that the process of obtaining disability status due to war injuries needs to be simplified.
“The regional military hospital provided a result, and then it needs to be confirmed again at the MSEC, which means we don’t trust the military hospital... They looked at the same documents; my leg hasn’t grown back and won’t grow back. This should all be in the information database,” added Mykhailo Kityk.
Taras Hnidets is also here for disability processing. The 22-year-old defender fought in the Bakhmut direction and was injured in March of this year.
“They dropped an anti-personnel mine from a drone, and I was wounded. I sustained an eye injury, my arm is non-functional, and I lost a lot of blood. After rehabilitation at the border detachment here in Lviv, they deemed me fit, and I went back to fight. After that, I was sent to Kyiv to the main MSEC, where I was granted a one-year deferment. Now I’ve gone through the MSEC here and received a lifetime second group status, as all my muscles are non-functional, and I can’t see out of one eye,” shared Taras Hnidets.
According to the Ministry of Health, starting January 1, expert teams for assessing daily functioning will replace the MSEC in Ukraine. These teams will consist of practicing doctors and will operate in multidisciplinary medical institutions. The new system will be digitized. The treating physician will be able to submit the case electronically for evaluation, and the results will automatically enter a unified information system for the social sphere for further rehabilitation, work capacity assessment, and, if necessary, state benefit appointments. Digitization will also help prevent corruption and other abuses. For example, doctors will not know the patient’s name at the time of assessment, and the patient will not know the names of the doctors.