Modern defibrillator, electrocardiograph, and vital signs monitor for the fight against COVID-19

The Autostrada Wielkopolska is once again supporting the health service in the fight against coronavirus. The company has donated modern equipment worth PLN 150,000 for operation of the MTP [Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, Poznan International Fair] Temporary Hospital in Poznań, which will open at the beginning of February. Patients will receive help faster, and medical staff will receive additional equipment to save the lives and health of their patients.

We are aware of the difficulties faced by the health service in fighting for the lives of patients infected with COVID-19,” says Krzysztof Andrzejewski, member of the Management Board of Autostrada Wielkopolska. “Every day we receive reports on equipment problems and staff shortages and other growing needs of doctors and nurses. We’re glad that, as Autostrada Wielkopolska, we can help by purchasing necessary equipment and in this way, contribute a bit to improving the health of patients and the quality of the working conditions of medical staff.

Autostrada Wielkopolska provided the MTP Temporary Hospital with a modern defibrillator, electrocardiographs, vital signs monitors, and printers for patient identification bands. The defibrillator is equipped with the LIFENET system, which enables the patient’s ECG examination to be sent via GSM network to a cardiologist located, for example, in another hospital. This will significantly facilitate and speed up cardiological consultations of patients with cardiovascular problems.

Human life and health depend on the proper functioning of key and critical medical equipment, which includes defibrillators, vital signs monitors and electrocardiographs, explained Prof. Szczepan Cofta, MD, PhD director of University Hospital of the Lord's Transfiguration in Poznan.

The University Hospital of the Lord's Transfiguration of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences is the operator and organiser of the Temporary Hospital at the MTP.

The MTP Temporary Hospital will be opened on the 1st of February this year. This is a good decision, because the hospitals that have so far been involved in combating COVID-19 must return to providing medical services in the areas assigned to them,” said Prof. Andrzej Tykarski, MD, PhD, Rector of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences. “The importance of this is shown by, for example, the death statistics for 2020, which show over 70,000 more deaths compared to 2019. It’s because of this that the University Hospital of the Lord’s Transfiguration of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences undertook responsibility for both setting up and managing the Temporary Hospital.

The project requires a significant amount of effort and financial commitment. Thanks to this additional support, patients will have the equipment necessary to save their health, and medical staff more options for their activities.

Our work with Autostrada Wielkopolska is very important to us,” explained Rafał Staszewski, MD, PhD, Director General of the Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Sciences in Poznan. “When we opened the University Coronavirus Laboratory, the Management Board of Autostrada Wielkopolska had already decided to support our project. We’re happy to receive further support, that will help all of the inhabitants of our region in the fight against the pandemic.

The equipment for the MTP Temporary Hospital was donated as part of the ‘Dbajmy o siebie nawzajem’ [Let's take care of each other] campaign, carried out by Autostrada Wielkopolska since the beginning of the pandemic. The aim of the campaign is to make people aware that ordinary gestures and simple actions in this extraordinary time of the epidemic can ensure the safety of everyone. As part of the campaign, the Company donated coronavirus diagnostic tests as well as medical supplies to the Medical University of Karol Marcinkowski in Poznan to be used by the Provincial Ambulance Station in Poznan. In April, the Company also donated a modern ultrasound machine for evaluating lungs and heart functions to the Provincial Hospital on ul. Lutycka in Poznan.