Three European Countries Join Efforts to Transfer Military Field Hospital to Ukraine

10 November, 2023 Field hospital for Ukraine, November 2023. Photo credits: Estonian Ministry of Defense Estonia and Iceland, together with Germany, sent a military field hospital to Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia reported about this on Friday, November 10, on social media. Estonia and Iceland donated equipment to the field hospital, while Germany provided the vehicles that will transport it. These are MAN off-road trucks.

Typically, such a field hospital consists of containers and tents for surgery, emergency care, intensive care, and several wards.

Equipment for the field hospital that was donated to Ukraine, November 2023. Photo credits: Estonian Ministry of Defense

It can also include auxiliary modules for the dental department, laboratory, medical staff, sterilization, and warehouse.

Trucks for transporting components of a field hospital that was transferred to Ukraine, November 2023. Photo credits: Estonian Ministry of Defense

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Estonia, in cooperation with various countries, has transferred field hospitals to Ukraine.

The field hospital is a key element in helping those affected during hostilities. It's designated to identify, stabilize, and, if necessary, provide surgical intervention to wounded personnel before they are brought to the hospital. In September 2023, Rheinmetall transferred a trailer mobile field hospital to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The transfer of the mobile field hospital happened following the signing of a contract between Rheinmetall and the German Ministry of Defense in September 2022.

Field hospital manufactured by Rheinmetall. Photo from the open sources

In addition to production, the contract provides for future personnel training and equipment support. The contract's value is estimated at EUR9 million.

The field hospital is designed for 32 beds, along with eight intensive care beds, an operating room with all sterilization means, an X-ray, tomographic equipment, a laboratory, a pharmacy, and a resting space for the medical warehouse.

Field modular hospital from Rheinmetall.

Photo by Rheinmetall

The transfer of the mobile hospital was executed in two stages: first, ten Ukrainian soldiers underwent a 14-day training course for its deployment and operation, and then, an official transfer occurred in a certain place.