Legal Status of the Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine Center in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the legal status of the Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine Center in Ukraine as a special entity in the healthcare sector. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that, under martial law, emergency situations, mass casualty incidents, and increased pressure on the healthcare system, such centers ensure the organization, coordination, and actual provision of emergency medical care to persons in urgent medical conditions. The purpose of the article is to comprehensively define the legal status of the Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine Center, taking into account the provisions of Ukrainian legislation on emergency medical care, healthcare, state financial guarantees of medical services, and other regulatory legal acts.

It is substantiated that the legal status of the center is complex and includes the status of a healthcare institution, a legal entity, an employer, an entity responsible for organizing and providing emergency medical care, and a participant in property, financial, labor, civil, and organizational legal relations. It is established that the center cannot be viewed merely as an organizational link in the emergency response system, since its activities are directly related to the realization of a person’s right to life, healthcare, and medical care. Particular attention is paid to the role of the operational dispatch service, material and technical support, human resources capacity, and interagency cooperation in ensuring timely response to emergency cases.

It is concluded that further improvement of legislation should be aimed at more clearly defining the legal personality of the center, the limits of responsibility of the center, its employees, and its founder, as well as strengthening guarantees of stable financing, resource support, and effective cooperation with other entities of the healthcare and civil protection systems.