Veteran who lost both legs shares experience with the Medical Commission.

Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran Oleh Symoroz stated that he faced bureaucratic hurdles when undergoing medical commissions for prosthetics and discharge from military service. Symoroz discussed this in an interview with “Glavkom”.

«I went through several military medical commissions – one commission continued my treatment, another approved the need for prosthetics, and yet another was for my discharge from service. So, I went through all this, and at the Central Military Hospital, the main medical institution of the Medical Forces, I collected an enormous folder of documents. There was probably information about every molecule of my body because, in reality, there were no parts of my body left that hadn’t been injured», – remarked the veteran.

Symoroz also mentioned that after passing the military medical commissions, he was discharged from military service, but he needed to obtain a group disability status.

«I go to the Medical-Social Expert Commission (MSEK). And imagine my shock when they make me do everything again, which I had already done at the military medical commission. I have to go to the district hospital, where, like an idiot, I have to go through all these non-inclusive Soviet-era offices, and it’s so convenient when you don’t have both legs!»

The veteran shared that he, along with his parents, was forced to visit 12 doctors, who once again copied the conclusions of the military medical commissions. This took up a lot of Symoroz's Time in obtaining the disability status.

«So I waste another week of my life. This is the story of those same MSEKs that the whole country is now aware of. A lot of bad things happen there – corruption and blatant mockery of military personnel», – noted the veteran.

Symoroz also mentioned that while he personally did not encounter bribe demands during MSEK, his comrades found themselves in similar situations.

«The thing is that the regulations by which the MSEK operates are written in such a way that the final decision depends on the doctor. That is, the entire methodology of assigning disability status is too vague. And if the guys had enough reasons to get the second disability group, they were given the third or demanded a bribe. Because it’s the doctor who assesses the degree of a person’s independence, their ability to self-care, and this significantly increases the role of the human factor, and it shouldn't be that way», – remarked the veteran.

The veteran believes that to improve the work of the MSEK, it is necessary to change the regulations and criteria for determining disability.

«There should be an established methodology for all cases – for 99% of all diseases and injuries. And then the doctor’s task will be reduced only to checking whether the limbs are present or not, rather than determining ‘by eye’ if a person is mobile or not. MSEK should be a transparent structure, not an outdated office with a money drawer», – emphasized Symoroz.

Let us recall that recently MSEKs have become the center of attention due to a corruption scandal involving the head of the Khmelnytsky regional medical-social expert center, Tetyana Krupa, and her son.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to eliminate MSEKs by the end of 2024, and the Ministry of Health will develop changes to the legislation regarding disability assessment.