WINDEAcare and Klinikum Oldenburg are working together to close the gap in medical care for workers on offshore wind farms. In addition to cooperating on research and development, they are also working together to offer a full range of medical services.

The long-term plans for Germany’s energy transition make medical care for workers on offshore wind farms a major issue. More than 2,000 people will soon be working permanently on wind farms located up to 150 km (100 miles) off the coast in the North and Baltic Seas. Often employees spend 14 days at a time at sea. In addition to work-related accidents, they also, of course, can come down with illnesses while at sea. It might something as simple as a slight cold or it could be life-threatening situations such as stroke, heart attack or severe trauma. To date, however, there does not exist healthcare infrastructure comparable to that available on land.

"In emergencies, speed is crucial to improving the patient’s chances of survival. All offshore rescues by their very nature include a gap in time before professional help can be on site. Therefore new procedures need to be developed that allow treatment to begin during the long journey back to shore and arrival at the treating hospital,” says Dr. Dirk Tenzer, Executive Director of Klinikum Oldenburg.

The core expertise of the WINDEA Group and Klinikum Oldenburg’s Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, Emergency Care and Pain Treatment provides the ideal basis for a partnership to close this gap in medical care. While previous concepts only offered individual modules, WINDEA and Klinikum Oldenburg now offer all the components of a holistic and practical medical care concept, all from a single source. The basis for this is a unique collaboration among medical, rescue services, nautical, aviation and technical experts previously unknown in the industry.

The partners are working together to develop acute and emergency medical care concepts to ensure high quality care in all emergencies. This practical experience is complemented with research and development to take this concept to the next level. Over the long term, these research activities will be further investigated at the European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen.

In addition to cooperating on research and development, the partners are also working together to offer a full range of medical services for offshore wind farms. In addition to the long-term development of emergency medicine for offshore wind farms, the WINDEA Group ensures that high-quality medical services can begin to be offered now in the short term.