Grodno University Clinic chief physician: up to 15 refugees admitted to our medical facility for treatment every month

Chief physician of the Grodno University Clinic Sergei Lazarevich told sb.by how many beaten refugees are admitted to the healthcare facility every month and how they are provided with medical aid

“Our university clinic demonstrates a high level of medical care. We accept patients from all over the region, including such a category as refugees. Most often they are brought in by ambulances, sometimes they are transferred from other hospitals. These are patients with various injuries: soft tissue bruises, blunt abdominal injuries, eye injuries, open and closed traumatic brain injuries, burns, hypothermia. These are also various therapeutic pathologies, mainly pneumonia and hypothermia in winter. Different numbers of patients arrive in different months: from 5 to 15 people,” said Sergei Lazarevich.

According to him, most refugees are men, and assistance to them is provided free of charge.

“Recently, no children have been admitted to our medical facility. About 12-18 months ago, we had children with ENT pathology,” the chief physician noted.

Sergei Lazarevich also spoke about the most serious case faced by the Grodno University Clinic doctors, “It was about two years ago. The patient had a serious eye injury and underwent surgery. The eye was saved. As the moment, these are mostly fractures, dislocations, bruises. Most often, they do without surgery.”

Answering the question of whether experts can claim that these injuries were not accidental, but are a result of the actions of the security forces of neighbouring countries, Sergei Lazarevich stressed, “The nature of the injury is determined by a forensic medical examination. Doctors record everything from the words of the patient. But, of course, when injuries are inflicted with batons, when people are beaten, it is clear that a person himself will not cause such an injury.”

On October 29th, Belarusian border guards found 15 refugees from Syria, Somalia, and Algeria. The victims said that they were all heading to Poland. On Polish territory, people in uniform beat them and, under threat of reprisals, expelled them through an animal gate to Belarus.