Without Power, Surgeons Work by Flashlight in Ukraine
2022-12-05
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1Russian strikes have cut off power across Ukraine, including many hospitals.
2The power outages added more pressure on the country's already weakened healthcare system.
3Medical operations, or surgeries, are being delayed.
4Patient records are unavailable because of internet outages.
5Dr. Oleh Duda was in the middle of a complex surgery at a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, when he heard explosions.
6Moments later, the lights went out.
7Duda had to keep working with only a headlamp for light.
8The lights came back three minutes later but those "fateful minutes could have cost the patient his life," the surgeon told The Associated Press.
9The operation took place on November 15.
10That day, the city in western Ukraine suffered outages as Russia launched missiles at Ukraine's energy supply.
11The attacks damaged nearly 50 percent of the country's energy facilities.
12The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that Ukraine's health system is facing "its darkest days in the war so far."
13The organization noted the growing energy crisis, the beginning of cold winter weather and other difficulties.
14Dr. Hans Kluge is the WHO's director for Europe.
15He said that 2 million to 3 million more people could leave their homes in search of warmth and safety.
16He said that could cause more health difficulties, including spreading infections like COVID-19, pneumonia and flu.
17Attacks have hit hospitals and other health centers in southeastern Ukraine, too.
18The WHO said in a statement that they have confirmed at least 703 attacks since the war began.
19Russia claims it does not target civilian facilities.
20Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Russia is targeting only structures "directly or indirectly related to military power."
21But last week, a strike on a maternity center in a hospital in eastern Ukraine killed a newborn baby and heavily wounded two doctors.
22And two people were killed in the northeastern Kharkiv area after the Russian forces hit a health center.
23In Lviv, Duda said the explosions were so close to the hospital that "the walls were shaking."
24Doctors and patients had to seek shelter underground.
25Across Kherson, it starts to get dark after 4 p.m. in late November.
26So, doctors are using headlamps, phone lights and flashlights to work.
27In some hospitals, important equipment no longer works.
28"The breathing machines don't work, the X-ray machines don't work. ... There is only one portable ultrasound machine," said Dr. Volodymyr Malishchuk.
29He is head of surgery at a children's hospital in Kherson.
30Health Minister Viktor Liashko said on Friday that there are no plans to shut down any of Ukraine's hospitals, no matter how bad the situation gets.
31Liashko said that generators have been provided to all hospitals.
32There will be 1,100 more generators sent by the country's Western allies in the coming weeks.
33A generator is a machine that uses fuel to create electricity.
34And the hospitals have enough fuel to last seven days.
35More generators are still badly needed, the minister added.
36"The generators are designed to work for a short period of time - three to four hours," but outages can last up to three days, Liashko said.
37Duda, the surgeon from Lviv, said "The war has affected every doctor in Ukraine, be it in the west or in the east, and the level of pain we're facing every day is hard to measure."
38I'm Dan Novak.
1Russian strikes have cut off power across Ukraine, including many hospitals. 2The power outages added more pressure on the country's already weakened healthcare system. Medical operations, or surgeries, are being delayed. Patient records are unavailable because of internet outages. 3Dr. Oleh Duda was in the middle of a complex surgery at a hospital in Lviv, Ukraine, when he heard explosions. Moments later, the lights went out. 4Duda had to keep working with only a headlamp for light. The lights came back three minutes later but those "fateful minutes could have cost the patient his life," the surgeon told The Associated Press. 5The operation took place on November 15. That day, the city in western Ukraine suffered outages as Russia launched missiles at Ukraine's energy supply. The attacks damaged nearly 50 percent of the country's energy facilities. 6The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that Ukraine's health system is facing "its darkest days in the war so far." The organization noted the growing energy crisis, the beginning of cold winter weather and other difficulties. 7Dr. Hans Kluge is the WHO's director for Europe. He said that 2 million to 3 million more people could leave their homes in search of warmth and safety. He said that could cause more health difficulties, including spreading infections like COVID-19, pneumonia and flu. 8Attacks have hit hospitals and other health centers in southeastern Ukraine, too. The WHO said in a statement that they have confirmed at least 703 attacks since the war began. 9Russia claims it does not target civilian facilities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Russia is targeting only structures "directly or indirectly related to military power." 10But last week, a strike on a maternity center in a hospital in eastern Ukraine killed a newborn baby and heavily wounded two doctors. And two people were killed in the northeastern Kharkiv area after the Russian forces hit a health center. 11In Lviv, Duda said the explosions were so close to the hospital that "the walls were shaking." Doctors and patients had to seek shelter underground. 12Across Kherson, it starts to get dark after 4 p.m. in late November. So, doctors are using headlamps, phone lights and flashlights to work. In some hospitals, important equipment no longer works. 13"The breathing machines don't work, the X-ray machines don't work. ... There is only one portable ultrasound machine," said Dr. Volodymyr Malishchuk. He is head of surgery at a children's hospital in Kherson. 14Health Minister Viktor Liashko said on Friday that there are no plans to shut down any of Ukraine's hospitals, no matter how bad the situation gets. 15Liashko said that generators have been provided to all hospitals. There will be 1,100 more generators sent by the country's Western allies in the coming weeks. A generator is a machine that uses fuel to create electricity. And the hospitals have enough fuel to last seven days. 16More generators are still badly needed, the minister added. "The generators are designed to work for a short period of time - three to four hours," but outages can last up to three days, Liashko said. 17Duda, the surgeon from Lviv, said "The war has affected every doctor in Ukraine, be it in the west or in the east, and the level of pain we're facing every day is hard to measure." 18I'm Dan Novak. 19Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 20__________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22headlamp - n. a light worn on the forehead 23fateful - adj. producing a serious and usually bad result 24surgeon - n. a doctor who performs operations that involve cutting into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts 25maternity - n. relating to the time when a woman gives birth to a baby 26flashlight - n. a small electric light that can be carried in your hand and that runs on batteries 27portable - adj. easy to carry or move around 28ultrasound - n. a method of producing images of the inside of the body by using a machine that produces sound waves which are too high to be heard