The Polish Medical Mission and Vasco Electronics are jointly creating a Rapid Response Medical Rescue Team. It will join more than thirty already existing rescue groups of this type worldwide and two in Poland accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO). The acceleration of the team’s establishment is a response to the need for immediate assistance in war-torn Ukraine, where the Krakow-based organization has been operating since the beginning of the conflict.
The Polish Medical Mission has been assisting victims of wars, disasters and calamities for 23 years, and is currently engaged in providing aid on Ukrainian territory. In its activities it draws on the knowledge and experience of volunteer doctors, who know the scale of the need for emergency teams thanks to the missions they have carried out. The emerging medical rescue team will have a professional medical staff with its own equipment and logistics, will be ready to take action within 24-48 hours of an incident and will be present on site for at least 2-3 weeks.
– Emergency services are facing ever-increasing challenges, compounded by shrinking health sector budgets and overstretched medical staff – says Ewa Piekarska-Dymus, CEO of the Polish Medical Mission. – The war in Ukraine has put us all in a situation where we are learning ourselves all over again. The involvement of people in providing aid, the formation of teams with different skills, gives hope that we can create important projects together. And that’s what our new team is, too.
Volunteer applications are being accepted at www.pmm.org.pl/pmm-vasco-emergency-team
Collaboration
In order to maintain readiness and independence in providing immediate assistance, the management of the Polish Medical Mission has decided to join forces with Vasco Electronics of Krakow, which, as a world leader in the production of electronic speech interpreters, specializes in facilitating communication and breaking down language barriers. The joint PMM Emergency Team project intends to operate on the basis of WHO international guidelines, in accordance with EMT Type 1 – Stationary and Mobile work standards.
– Vasco Electronics will support the project to build a new medical team in terms of organizing and planning rescue operations, purchasing and storing equipment and medicines, financing outbound operations, promoting activities at home and abroad, planning and implementing fundraising activities for the team, and most importantly financing training – both in-service training and on the principles of mission security, biological threats, terrorism, as well as selected aspects of emergency, tropical and travel medicine – says Maciej Góralski, CEO of Vasco Electronics, an experienced paramedic and also the Emergency Team Leader.
First mission and recruitment
The first joint mission of the PMM Emergency Team will be to provide assistance to victims of the war in Ukraine. To be able to realize both this and future goals, the team is announcing recruitment for doctors, paramedics, nurses and psychologists ready to work under extreme conditions.
Formal qualifications will be evaluated at the first stage, followed by psychophysical predispositions – openness to other cultures, ability to think analytically, acting under time pressure. Volunteers must have an active license to practice their profession, at least 3 years of work experience (in the case of doctors) and knowledge of English at a communicative level,”informs Wioletta Węgorowska-Mosz, team coordinator, “Medical specializations in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, as well as ultrasound courses are welcome. Also: experience working abroad – especially participation in humanitarian missions, and knowledge of foreign languages other than English.
Representatives of the team have already met with Dr. Paloma Cuchi, WHO representative in Poland, and a training course for coordinators led by WHO experts is planned in a few weeks. Of the 32 teams accredited to WHO, 8 are formed by NGOs. The organization and maintenance in this case is done with funds raised from sponsors, from targeted grants, but mainly through contributions from individual donors.
For volunteers who are recruited, the PMM Emergency Team offers participation in training, mandatory and in-service training, both medical and non-medical, the opportunity to share knowledge and experience about health systems and relief conditions in different parts of the world with international experts, work based on WHO standards, and professional development in the areas of extreme and travel medicine. Volunteers will be provided with airfare, accommodation, per diem and meals, as well as travel insurance.
Contribute to help the Polish Medical Mission to Ukraine:
- set up a recurring payment in your bank for PMM activities or at https://pmm.org.pl/chce- aid#ukraina
- make a donation on the official FB collection for Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/donate/375415624008297/5395474380471879
- make a donation to the Polish Medical Mission account number: 62 1240 2294 1111 0000 3718 5444 marked UKRAINE
- donate 1% by entering KRS 0000162022
