Hospital da Luz Guimarães provided this month the first training sessions in Basic Life Support (BLS) to students from two educational institutions of the region: Escola Secundária Martins Sarmento and Colégio do Ave. This training falls within the scope of the initiative “ Para uma escola mais segura – Juntos vamos salvar vidas ” (Towards a safer school – Together we will save lives), launched last October and viewing to increase the skills of students and school staff in this field, so as to contribute to a reduction of deaths by cardiorespiratory arrest. The training sessions were provided by a nursing team of the hospital specialized in BLS – namely João Vieira da Silva, Hugo Costa, Tânia Fernandes, and Sérgio Martins – and englobed groups of 10 th and 11 th graders from the referred schools. The students had the opportunity to learn how to identify a situation of cardiorespiratory arrest and how to act, practising on medical manikins the necessary manoeuvres of thoracic compression, inflation, placement of the victim in lateral safety position, and airway clearing. Escola Secundária Martins Sarmento In October, Hospital da Luz had already offered these two schools automated external defibrillator devices (AED) and provided specific training to certify its use by members of the school staff. This time, BLS training involved students, teachers, and other collaborators. In Portugal, there are approximately 8,000 schools, distributed between public and private educational establishments, yet only 10% are equipped with AED. The training in BLS and the use of AED is a decisive added value for these two schools in Guimarães. Colégio do Ave It is with great enthusiasm and satisfaction that Hospital da Luz Guimarães embraces this cause. We are certain that this initiative will be a valuable asset for the schools of the region and the community in general , for they will be more prepared to face situations of cardiorespiratory arrest. Together we will save lives!
