Tampere University Hospital has committed to receiving wounded soldiers from the Ukraine, who may arrive for treatment in the coming days.

Behind the effort is a group of volunteers aiming to bring a dozen injured Ukrainian military personnel to Finland.

"We are committed to accepting individual patients, just like other university hospitals in Finland," said Juhani Sand, Tampere University Hospital's chief physician.

He noted that overall, staffing within the Pirkanmaa region hospital district was stretched quite thin over the summer.

"Nonetheless, in this exceptional situation, we are doing our small part to assist victims of war wherever necessary," Sand said.

Few patients brought to Finland through official channels

So far, few Ukrainian soldiers injured while defending their country against Russia's invasion have arrived in Finland for treatment through official channels.

The transfer of patients by authorities always takes place through channels of the European Union's civil protection mechanisms, which coordinate disaster responses at the EU-level.

Finland's Ministry of the Interior follows the EU's common information channel, where various countries are able to indicate whether they are prepared to receive patients from Ukraine.

"However, it is not possible at this time to provide multiple hospital places for large numbers of severely injured soldiers," said Krista Lyyra, a senior specialist at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's department for safety, security and health.

Additionally, Lyyra explained, there are currently no plans for coordinating the arrival of injured Ukrainian military personnel to Finland, but added that that she does not rule out the possibility of individual patients arriving in the summer.

No one can be denied help

While authorities cannot stop volunteers from helping, Lyyra explained, the groups have been reminded to plan ahead and think things through carefully in advance.

"For an NGO to take such risks with people's lives, I hope they have thought it through carefully. Authorities have tried to convey this message," Lyyra said.

"Hospitals are in a difficult situation anyway," she added, referring to ongoing staffing shortages causing problems within Finland's healthcare services.

Lyyra acknowledged that volunteer groups might find the authorities' procedures cumbersome and slow, but said there was a reason for this.

"Ukraine is strict about inter-agency patient transfers. They want to ensure that if they hand over responsibility for care to another country, the patient will be treated and the treatment will be free-of-charge," she said.

Ultimately, it is also up to patients to decide to which country they want to go for treatment.

"Not so clear-cut"

Timo Kangastie, a member of the volunteer group aiming to bring the injured military personnel to Finland, said that most of the soldiers had received acute treatment in Ukraine but needed further rehabilitation for amputated limbs or other serious injuries to be carried out in Finland.

Kanagastie said one of the group's goals is to reduce the burden on Ukrainian health care services.

After Russia's invasion, Ukraine banned men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Kangastie, however, said that the documents are in order for those who are to be transported out of the country.

He noted Migri, the Finnish Immigration Service, had given the "green light" for the soldiers to come to Finland.

However, the head of Migri's asylum seeker reception centre unit,Pekka Nuutinen, said the issue was not so clear-cut.

"We have received information from [the group] that something like this is going on," Nuutinen confirmed. "But certainly neither Migri nor any other agency is in a position to greenlight such an operation."

Nuutinen said he believed that bringing wounded and sick people to Finland involved great risks, adding that he wondered who would take responsibility if something happened.

"We think such operations should be left to the authorities," Nuutinen said.

There had been talk of official requests for help earlier, Nuutinen acknowledged, but said it had been difficult to verify the cases, adding that Migri had not received the names of individuals in need of care.

Meanwhile, Kanagastie also acknowledged that when he had been in contact with Finnish authorities about the patient transport plans, attitudes had sometimes been lukewarm.

"Someone is always on vacation or there is just a feeling of disinterest," Kangastie said. "Sometimes they say it can wait until later. But help is needed today."