Drill tests emergency response at the Sousa Martins Hospital helipad – Guarda

The Guarda Local Health Unit (ULS) carried out, on the morning of this Friday, July 4th, a simulation exercise next to the Sousa Martins Hospital helipad, with the aim of testing the operationality of the rescue resources and coordination in emergency situations.

The exercise, which began at around 10:00 am, was attended by several Civil Protection entities, namely the Fire Department, the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Public Security Police (PSP), the Municipal Civil Protection, among other corporations in the region .

The simulated scenario involved the crash of a helicopter – represented by a light vehicle – followed by a fire, resulting in three victims, one of them in serious condition.

João Salgueiro, Director of Services, Facilities and Equipment at ULS da Guarda and responsible for the heliport, said that “this is an exercise that we carry out annually, within the scope of our Internal Emergency Plan, and is a requirement of the competent entities, namely the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC).

He added that the main objective of this type of training is to “identify opportunities for improvement for future exercises or real situations”.

At the end of the operation, he considered that the balance was considered very positive.

“We believe that the response time was very satisfactory, but we will now meet with the entities involved to analyse the procedures in detail and identify possible areas for improvement,” said João Salgueiro. He added that the aim is to ensure that, in the event of a real incident, the response is “as effective as possible”.