A new €450,000 medical simulation centre was inaugurated at Mater Dei Hospital.
Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said health care professionals including nurses, doctors and surgical trainees now had a brand new simulation centre to allow them to develop their medical and surgical techniques in a simulated environment.
Ray Galea, head of post graduate medical training, said the centre was divided into two large areas over a total of 250 square metres and was training some 460 postgraduate and undergraduate doctors in diagnostics and surgical procedures throughout the year.
Training procedures include adult medical specialities, chemical pathology, dermatology, orthopaedic, ophthalmology and paediatric surgery.
The controlled training environment is aimed at imitating a real-life patient care setting.
Parts are furnished with cameras to enable recording of training sessions, allowing trainee doctors to learn without jeopardising the welfare of patients.
It offers the latest medical simulation technology including two human patient simulators which blink, simulate breathing and mimic heartbeat, pulse and respiratory sounds.
These are used for training on physical examinations and interdisciplinary major trauma management.
The centre holds a simulated clinical environment and virtual procedure stations, presenting a variety of scenarios where trainees can practice until they master techniques.