With the UAE stepping up its efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities at the Sharjah city have also intensified their efforts to support the battle and protect citizens from the virus. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Community Protection, in affiliation with the Training and Development Center in Sharjah launched a mobile unit for medical training simulation.

An added advantage and value addition to the simulation training project, the project will play a significant role in strengthening the safety of COVID-19 infected patients. The initiative will assist the frontline workers with medical training in health technical matters in a bid to efficiently tackle the health challenges triggered by the novel Coronavirus disease.

The training simulation will boost the efficiency of medical personnel in hospitals, clinics, and field hospitals and will improve their skills in accordance with the updated healthcare protocols. This will allow them to better contribute to the pandemic battle. Furthermore, the project will support the dedication of the healthcare personnel toward continuous training and patient-centeredmedical care.

With the launch of the initiative last month, Sharjah's Training and Development Center and Health Ministry have not only received positive feedback about its benefits, but requests have also increased for the employment of the mobile units in various other facilities.

According to AwadSagher Al-Ketbi, the assistant undersecretary for the Support Services sector, the simulation unit provides an innovative training solution in enhancing the personal capabilities of doctors and medical staff. The medical staff has to be trained to deal with critical cases in accordance with the advanced medical and health simulation methods as provided by the Health Ministry. Innovation in the institutional work environment helps in strengthening the healthcare system and building smart training systems to prepare for future situations.

The multidisciplinary clinical simulation system creates scenarios for natural situations that simulate reality, such that doctors and healthcare professionals can train in a safe and integrated simulation environment. It helps in better communication between the team members. Furthermore, simulation training will prepare the healthcare personnel to respond to various medical conditions and emergencies through the scenarios established, particularly dealing with critical COVID-19 cases. It will assist the doctors and medical staff in the assessment and screening of COVID-19 infected patients, infection prevention measures, cardiac pulmonary resuscitation, and patient support skills.

Speaking about the initiative, Director at Sharjah's Training and Development Center, Saqr Al-Hameeri, highlighted the need for training simulation model in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, particularly for critical cases. The simulation tools boost the skills and efficiency of specialized medical personnel to treat Coronavirus patients.

Safe training opportunities

Aiming at providing realistic simulation training, the mobile unit will also assist institutions to be prepared for ongoing and future healthcare situations with the movement of training facilities to the work sites. Mobile units will help in transferring innovative equipment and supplies to the existing work systems facilitating the cure of health issues of the patients.

Notably, the training simulation model is the first of its kind initiative in the world to train healthcare professionals, while ensuring their safety in dealing with all forms of cases, be it critical or non-critical. It also contributes to amplifying the cognitive, behavioural, and technical skills of medical personnel in the healthcare sector.