During the summer season, when several thousand tourists come to Ustka, the city gets crowded, which makes it difficult for paramedics to reach people in the seaside area. Therefore, as part of the local community support, the first fully publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in the city’s seaside area has been installed on the Seaside Promenade. This will be crucial in providing first aid during cardiac arrest.

The latest European Resuscitation Council guidelines indicate that defibrillating a victim within three to five minutes of cardiac arrest increases the chance of survival to about 75%. This is the primary reason to reach for an automatic AED defibrillator if there is one nearby.

Małgorzata Babska, Senior Communication and Stakeholder Manager at RWE: “Caring about health is part of RWE’s safety culture, which is why we were very proud to be involved in the installation of a public defibrillator in Ustka. Just as we take care of the health of our employees, we take the same approach to the health of people in this Polish city that is so important to offshore wind. A few weeks ago, we signed a long-term lease of land for RWE’s base of operations in Ustka port, thereby confirming that we are also thinking long-term about our presence among the local community of the city.”

Swift action saves lives

Every year, thousands of people lose consciousness and die from sudden cardiac arrest. This can be prevented by immediately administering first aid. If first aid is combined with automatic defibrillation before the arrival of the ambulance, the chances of survival of the victims increase dramatically.

Jacek Maniszewski, Mayor of Ustka: “The proper placement of AEDs, especially in high-traffic areas, can save lives. There are never too many such devices in public space, and the Ustka Seaside Promenade is popular with residents, tourists and visitors to the Ustka health resort. We currently have eight such devices in Ustka, including three external ones. I would like to thank RWE very much for this initiative. I am glad that the company, while planning investments in our city, also cares about our residents and tourists.”

AED - effective first aid before the arrival of medical rescue team

The AED is a specialised device that informs the first-aider by means of commands whether defibrillation is necessary and what steps should be taken next. The device gives voice commands, guiding the first aider as to whether an electrical discharge is required and how strong it should be.

Karol Baczkowski, first aid trainer: “People should be given the tools to save lives, only then can action be taken. Knowledge is one thing, but an AED totally changes the rules of the game - it buys us time. First aid is really simple and since rescuers have the status of a public servant, they are protected from any consequences.”

F.E.W. Baltic II - RWE’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Poland

Ustka is the location of the future operations and maintenance base for the F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind farm - the first offshore wind project being developed by RWE off the coast of Poland. With a planned installed capacity of 350 megawatts, the wind farm will be able to produce enough green energy to power around 350,000 households. RWE is continuing to develop the project, with commissioning scheduled for the end of this decade.

Pictures for media purposes is available in the RWE Media Centre (image rights: RWE).

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