Kochani, 12 June 2025 (MIA) - The rehabilitation of patients injured in the fire at the “Pulse” nightclub will be conducted at the Ponikva resort to avoid high summer daytime temperatures and reduce the need for their families to transport them to the hospitals in Kochani or Skopje, said government spokesperson Marija Miteva and doctors Katerina Mirchovska from the General Hospital in Kochani and Gordana Georgieva from the University Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Skopje at a press conference Thursday.

“The Ponikva resort owned by the Interior Ministry has been placed at our disposal to conduct the rehabilitation, resocialization and to provide psychological support to the injured. Medical teams will be activated, and they will be available 24 hours a day. The patients will be divided into groups which will rotate every two weeks,” said Doctor Mirchovska, who was recently appointed acting head of the Kochani-based General Hospital.

Premises in the General Hospital in Kochani have been adapted to provide care for patients who are unable to receive rehabilitation at the Ponikva resort, while reconstruction work on the hospital’s physical medicine and rehabilitation department is set to begin on Friday. In cooperation with the hospital in Shtip, a plan will be made to provide care to patients during the reconstruction.

Between May 20 and June 10 a total of 167 patients injured in the fire have been evaluated. Five patients remain hospitalized in the country, while five others are still receiving treatment abroad. Eight patients who have a temporary stay or residence abroad have not been evaluated.

Doctor Georgieva, who is a part of the team evaluating the injured, said patients have been classified into five groups based on the severity of their injuries, starting from the first group with the lightest injuries to the fifth group with the most severe. She said there are 36 patients in the first group, 49 in the second group, 41 in the third group, 25 in the fourth group, and 16 in the fifth group.

“We believe that a multidisciplinary approach is necessary in their treatment and monitoring. After a certain time period, we will need to evaluate them again to prevent or ensure an early diagnosis of potential complications because of the various types of injuries,” Georgieva said.

In addition to burns, there are patients with inhalation injuries and psychological trauma. Those in the fourth and fifth groups will require prolonged treatment, and some from the fifth group will also need additional surgical intervention.

At the beginning of next week, measurements will be taken at the General Hospital in Kochani for the production of compression garments for patients for whom this had not been done previously. The activity will be realized in cooperation with representatives of clothing manufacturers from Bulgaria and Germany. Work is also underway on 3D scanning of patients with burns on the face, head, and neck to create custom-made silicone masks.

Nearly 200 people were injured in the fire that broke out at the "Pulse" nightclub in Kochani on March 16 and claimed the lives of 62 people. 

Photo: Screenshot