In response to the letter to the editor submitted by García-Cañas and Areta-Jiménez,1 we appreciate the explanation and clarifications on the concept of Role 4, and we acknowledge that we made a mistake in ranking the "role" of Hospital General de la Defensa "Orad y Gajías" in Zaragoza (HGDZ). We also appreciate the clarifications on medical support in operations and its meaning, as they are relevant and will prevent future errors.
Our article aimed to convey the complex clinical and epidemiological situation arising from the healthcare of these patients, and the complications in their management and antibiotic therapy due to the resistance of pathogens, mainly from war wounds. Despite being a hospital with a role inferior to other military hospitals, the commitment of HGDZ to treating patients from the war in Ukraine is exemplary and absolute.
Under the agreement between the Department of Health of the Autonomous Region of Aragon and Spain's Ministry of Defence,2 with the collaboration of numerous departments of the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza and the mediation of the HGDZ administration, we have provided care that might well be classified as excellent. Although our hospital is not a “role 4” hospital, we have fulfilled all the necessary functions and material and human resource requirements, as demonstrated by the procedures performed by Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery and Neurosurgery, or by the continuous work of other departments, such as Microbiology.
These efforts have been recognised by the Ministry of Defence, which continues to put its trust in our hospital, as demonstrated by the latest news articles published in the press.3 This reply serves to extol the virtues of international and national healthcare cooperation in times of war, the complexity of which has been accurately reflected by García-Cañas and Areta-Jiménez.
FundingNo funding was received for this article.
Conflicts of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
