The Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) donated a paediatric patient simulator for the education and training of professionals of Hospital Beatriz Ângelo (HBA) Paediatric Emergency Service. The donation was made to Angelitos , a non-profit association created and managed by the professionals of this hospital to help improve the healthcare provided and welfare in the Paediatrics Unit. The simulator was delivered during a ceremony held on April 14, with the presence of Rita Faden, president of FLAD, Artur Vaz, executive director of HBA, Edgar Almeida, clinical director, and Paulo Oom, director of Paediatrics and Angelitos. “It makes all the sense to collaborate and help, to the best of our abilities”, declared Rita Faden. Paulo Oom, who acknowledged and thanked the donation, stressed the importance of practise and repetition in medical learning, explaining that “the use of mannequins in situations of reanimation is fundamental for health professionals, so they can acquire practise and experience in such situations, allowing them to be better prepared in a real situation”. The simulation of critical situations is even more important in a context of pandemic, he added, “since the reanimation of children suspected of COVID-19 implies a series of procedures that are different” from usual. The simulator now donated by FLAD – and which was baptized as “Artur” – has realistic airways and resources of defibrillation, allows the administration of medication and intraosseous infusion, as well as the auscultation of cardiac, respiratory and intestinal sounds. It will allow physicians and nurses to train continuously the necessary competences to assist children and youths, in emergency situations and with the need of advanced life support.
