Outflow of medical staff and destruction of infrastructure are the main reasons for the deterioration in the availability of medical services during the war – study

Ukrainians name the outflow of medical staff and the destruction of medical infrastructure by the aggressor as the main reasons for the deterioration in the availability of medical services during the war.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the research company Active Group and the analytical center Experts Club in early February and presented at the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency on Friday, 48% of respondents said they felt a deterioration in medical services during the war.

Among the main problems of medicine in wartime conditions, 60% of respondents named the outflow of medical staff, 22.7% – the destruction of medical infrastructure, and 13.4% – the shortage of medicines.

“Considering that the deterioration of medical services occurs because medical facilities are either physically destroyed or doctors have left them, the fact that only 48% of respondents felt a deterioration is not a bad result. The main problems in medicine during the war are the outflow of medical staff, only then the destruction of infrastructure, and only then the shortage of medicines. That is, we see that the main problem is the problem of staff, the lack of medical staff”, – said Active Group founder Andriy Yeremenko.

The reforms carried out in recent years in the field of medicine have helped medicine to keep working, and what people say about no improvement or a deterioration in the quality of medical services still, according to the expert, “does not contain devastating criticism”.

According to the survey, currently 7.2% rated the state of affairs in the healthcare system as very bad, 18.7% – rather bad, 16.7% – rather good, and very good – 2%. At the same time, 54.6% gave it an average rating.

At the same time, 29.5% of respondents fully trust their family doctor, and 61.9% – partially.

Assessing the possibility of obtaining consultations with a family doctor in their region, 88.8% of respondents said it is very easy or easy to do so, and 21% – very difficult or difficult.

Slightly more than 10% of respondents said their local hospital has fully enough medicines and modern equipment, while 45.8% answered that there is enough only partially.

At the same time, 40% of respondents said that a consultation with a narrow-profile specialist has to be awaited for up to a week, 28.4% – 1-2 weeks, and 11.5% – more than a month. 68% of respondents regularly paid for medical services out of pocket in 2024-2025.

At the same time, 16% of respondents said they spend less than 5% of the family budget on medicine, and almost 21% of respondents reported spending of more than 20%.

“The study revealed both positive and painful aspects of the Ukrainian healthcare system. The most painful topic is the outflow of staff. But it is important to see the strengths too. I was very glad that the level of trust in the family doctor is very high. So the foundation for developing the healthcare system exists, although, partly because of the war, there are economic barriers and barriers to access”, – noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the information and analytical center Experts Club.