Since early February, the Kursk Regional Branch of the Russian Red Cross (RRC) has assisted in the transportation of more than 150 patients as part of the “Medical and Sanitary Service of the Russian Red Cross” project. This initiative aims to reduce the burden on emergency medical services and provide accessible and safe transportation for people with limited mobility.
The medical teams of the RRC Kursk Regional Branch use specialized medical vehicles for transportation. They assist patients returning home from hospitals, arriving for admission, transferring between medical facilities, and attending outpatient examinations. 40 volunteers have already been involved in the project; they receive practical training and reinforce the service teams.
The project focuses on people with limited mobility — bedridden patients, people with disabilities, palliative care patients, and those who require assistance when moving between facilities or returning home after treatment. Family members and relatives may also accompany the patients.
Requests for transportation must be submitted in advance — either by medical organizations during discharge planning or by patients and their relatives themselves. The assistance is provided free of charge. These transfers are performed according to schedule and not intended for emergencies: in life-threatening situations, please contact emergency services by dialing 103.
If necessary, the RRC Kursk Regional Branch teams travel to other regions as well. For example, the Kursk specialists assisted in transporting a woman from the Krasnodar region who required complex surgery following an injury, as well as a palliative child with cerebral palsy and the child’s mother to a children’s hospice in the Belgorod region.
Apart from their project duties, the RRC Kursk Regional Branch team regularly visits border areas and assists in evacuating those affected by the conflict when necessary. During the warm season and between trips, the medical vehicles are used in the educational campaigns of the RRC Kursk Regional Branch for children and adults. This offers a unique opportunity to study modern medical equipment in detail and practice using it on training simulators.
The project is implemented with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund for Civil Society Development. To learn more about the project's mechanics and to submit an application, please visit the dedicated section of the RRC Kursk Regional Branch Cross social media community: https://vk.com/wall-213327497_15424
