The Korczowa shopping mall on the border with Ukraine has been transformed into an initial temporary shelter for refugees leaving Ukraine. Numerous refugees with illnesses reportedly arrive there fleeing the war, in some cases fleeing directly from hospitals, after crossing the border into Poland in precarious condition.

In at least one case, a migrant lost their glucometer, resulting in an extremely high blood sugar level. Yet another carried a relative on his shoulders, taking him directly from the operating room while the bombs were falling. That patient arrived in Poland with a needle still stuck in his arm.

A corner in the shopping center has been set up with beds and dividers, where those who are experiencing the hardship of war are also dealing with the pain of illness.

Already treated 600 in a week at Intersos ER

The Italian organization Intersos set up an emergency room with two doctors, support staff, and a van that arrived from Italy last Sunday loaded with medicines.

"We provide initial treatment and emergency interventions by collaborating with the municipality's paramedics," said health programme director Francesco Sinchetto. "We stabilize the sick, who are then transferred to the hospital at a rate of about a hundred a day," Sinchetto said.

The doctors have already treated 600 patients in just one week, according to Intersos.

About 6,000 refugees pass through every day

The field clinic is in a huge concrete structure similar to thousands of others across Europe, and before Putin invaded Ukraine, it housed shops. Now, in the place where shelves previously stood with clothes, mothers are sheltering with their children, along with the first migrants to arrive. For the others, there are, at best, cots in the corridor.

There are 2,000 people staying there, and about 6,000 who reportedly pass through daily. In addition to the women and children, 20% are men, but only the elderly and ill.

As nobody uses a mask, the risk is high for the center to develop into a Covid hotbed, especially considering the low vaccination rate in Ukraine.

Volunteers said they haven't seen any cases yet, but there's a concrete possibility of cases developing.

The center provides refugees with clothing, hot meals and emergency medical care. Refugees are allowed to stay two nights before moving on, even if they don't know where to go. However, people are coming from across Europe to offer rides and free shelter in places such as Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam.

One of doctors on site worked in Foggia migrant camp

Before coming to the Polish border, Italian doctor Alice Silvestro worked in Borgo Mezzanone, the migrant camp in Foggia, a place that is even worse than the shopping center. "The hope is that this will remain a transit center; the one in Puglia is a permanent settlement," Silvestro said. "This is the big difference, but the desperation is the same."

Fortunately, most of those who undergo medical exams don't have very serious physical problems. Silvestro said the main illnesses are linked to the cold, especially for children, or to muscle fatigue. "These are people who have spent days in the car or in trains, or walked for dozens of kilometers before reaching the border."

Artur fled the hospital and arrived in Poland with a needle still in his arm

The refugees are also presenting with serious psychological problems. A 10-minute visit is enough: as soon as they realize they are finally safe, the refugees let themselves go. There are panic attacks and sobbing.

"It is an inconsolable cry," Silvestro said. "I don't know what they may have seen to cry like that, but they don't stop."

There are also more serious medical cases, such as that of Alina, who fled the hospital two days after giving birth via C-section. Doctors diagnosed her with postpartum anemia, which required an emergency hospitalisation.

Another patient, Artur, fled the hospital and arrived in Poland with a needle still in his arm and a catheter still inserted. "He was in the operating room, in Kiev, for a back surgery, when the bombings began," the doctor said. "His brother loaded him on his shoulders and took him away. They spent five days in a bunker, then they managed to leave the city and get here." Artur is now recovering in hospital.

Two children with cancer were also transferred to the hospital. "Fortunately, the youngest do not understand what is happening," Silvestro said. "But those age three and up are in shock. It is difficult to communicate with them, to get anything out of them."

When volunteers take the electronic thermometer to measure the temperature, an object has become so common in two years of the pandemic, there is not one that does not jump back because it looks too much like a gun. "They are traumatized; their eyes are dull," Silvestro said. The look is that of someone who has seen things that no child should ever be able to imagine, according to Silvestro.