Hospitals, health centers, EMS, and everything similar was gone. The most advanced medical help that you could find in the hardest period was more or less primitive medical care that some military units had, such as medics and low-level trauma care. But this was not available to common folks.

People with medical knowledge became very important because of this fact, but even the most skilled people were often completely useless because all of the other help that the system offers you is simply non-existent.

One of my old colleagues told me a story that could point out some things.

His friend called him to help him with his father, who had fallen from the roof. The man climbed on the roof to repair broken tiles, and he was there in the middle of the night (which was the safest way). He fell down, and his sons found him unconscious. They brought him in the house and called my ex-colleague, a nurse, for help.

When he arrived, he checked the old man, then called his sons in another room. He explained to them that their father was going to die very soon because most probably he had internal bleeding.

The sons were mad at him and they started to threaten him, asking him that he help the old man in any possible way.

My colleague told them that only way possible was to ask for help from the local paramilitary unit who had some medical stash, but even that was very questionable because the man the needed specialized medical care, and at that moment that kind of care was not available in the whole city.

The sons took a trip that night to the headquarters of that unit, and guys there told them to visit the "hospital" which was situated in the basement of a destroyed apartment building.

They later told my colleague that the "hospital" actually was 3 basement rooms with oil lamps and a stench so bad that they both immediately vomited.

The "doctor" who listened to their story about the old man's injuries asked the two of them " Do you have weapons?" They answered  "Yeah, sure".

They were surprised and started to yell at him, then "doctor" pulled a gun and said, "Get the f…. out of here or I'll shoot both of you. Your old man is already dead"