The Mykolaiv Regional Council is planning to reallocate the emergency fuel supplies that had been allocated to hospitals in the event of power cuts
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- Julia LukyanenkoReporter
The Mykolaiv Regional Council is planning to reallocate fuel that was not used during the power cuts. Photo: NikVesti archiveAt its upcoming session, the Mykolaiv Regional Council is due to consider the reallocation of fuel that was allocated from the state budget’s reserve fund to hospitals during power cuts. However, there are disagreements over how to distribute it, so the departments must resolve this before the next session.
This was discussed during a meeting of the standing committee on social policy, healthcare, motherhood, childhood, the protection of the rights of ATO/OOS participants and veterans and their families, and gender equality on 31 August, according to NikVesti.
Iryna Tkachenko, head of the health department, noted that, in accordance with a Cabinet of Ministers resolution and an order from the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, diesel fuel had been allocated to power generators during power cuts. It was distributed amongst hospitals.
However, healthcare facilities are becoming increasingly automated, and some have installed solar panels, so not all the fuel was used. It was proposed that part of this fuel be transferred to social care institutions.
«The Social Protection Department approached us with a proposal to reallocate 5 tonnes of fuel for their geriatric care homes and social neurological care facilities. We therefore supported this proposal and are redistributing this fuel to the Social Protection Department,» said Iryna Tkachenko.
Another portion of the fuel is being offered to healthcare facilities where power cuts occur more frequently.
«The amount of fuel not used by our healthcare facilities is being distributed amongst those facilities that are in a more vulnerable situation, namely those that are remote and more frequently cut off from the centralised electricity supply during the day,» explained the head of the health department.
However, it transpired that there is another motion before the regional council regarding the redistribution of fuel. Tetiana Labartkava, administrative manager of the regional council’s executive office, reported that neither motion has been withdrawn. And the two cannot be considered simultaneously.
The Mykolaiv Regional Council’s Committee on Social Policy and Health. Screenshot from the broadcastShe explained that the diesel fuel had been purchased using funds from the state budget’s contingency reserve in case of a blackout.
«The volume of fuel that was purchased remains unchanged. According to the information sent to us by healthcare facilities, savings were made at certain institutions. In other words, the facilities actually received a smaller quantity than that specified in the regional council’s decision. The reason is a lack of storage capacity,» said Tetiana Labartkava.
She noted that the executive body has raised concerns, which is why it cannot approve any draft resolution. Instead, the health department has been invited to work together to refine it.
Councillor Andrii Zakusilov (elected from «Nash Krai») remarked that it is not yet known how this year’s heating season will unfold or how much fuel the hospitals will require.
«I don’t know how things will develop from here. But all the energy facilities in the area are being taken off the books. What next? If we have fuel that we’ve saved up, perhaps we should keep it and see how things develop. Because if they take everything down to zero here, I don’t know how the hospitals in the Snighurivka community will function,» the councillor remarked.
Ultimately, Yurii Hranaturov, Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, pointed out that this is not a matter of saving fuel, as it is reserve fuel.
«Nothing has been saved. This is reserve fuel in case of blackouts. It is impossible to save or use it up. It all depends on how long the power cuts last. The calculations were made accordingly,» said Yurii Hranaturov.
According to him, the discrepancy between the figures arose because one set of data related to fuel used by hospitals, whilst the other concerned remaining stocks. He noted that during scheduled hourly power cuts, the electricity supply to hospitals was not cut off. Instead, fuel was used during blackouts.
He noted that it is important to address the issue at the next session of the regional council. Ultimately, the matter was removed from the committee’s agenda. The obsolete draft resolution is to be withdrawn, whilst the other is to be considered by the relevant committee on housing and communal services.
It was previously reported that the Mykolaiv Regional Clinical Hospital is currently unable to set up an inpatient palliative care unit due to a lack of suitable premises. At the same time, the establishment of such a unit is currently under consideration, as palliative care must be accessible, particularly in regional healthcare facilities.
