HPA Paediatric

Quality of services – generosity and caring in care

HPA Magazine 8

World Children’s Day

As proof that nothing in the world is better than children, the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology created activities to commemorate World Children’s Day.
On this day, all of the children who had consultations or were hospitalised in the Hospital de Gambelas received a present from Bo Bear, a blue bear that Nestlé kindly shared with us. We also had a children’s entertainer who played with and amused the children with stories, balloons and a bit of silliness. During the week, the staff was invited to participate in an initiative we call “Helping is Sharing”. They brought items such as toys, clothes and books, which were handed out at the end of the Children’s Congress to four social solidarity institutions: Refúgio Aboim Ascensão, Cáritas Diocesana do Algarve “O Despertar”, and Instituto D. Francisco Gomes – Casa dos Rapazes e Casa da 1ª Infância de Loulé (Boys Home and Early Childhood Home of Loulé).

First Children’s Congress

Also as part of the World Children’s Day commemorations, the 1st Children’s Congress, aimed at parents, caretakers and educators, took place on 3 June in Vilamoura, in the Hotel Crowne Plaza. 
With a full house, many topics were addressed, aimed in general to the different needs of development and promotion of the health of babies, children and adolescents, especially: The Importance of Nutrition in the First 1000 Days of Life; Colic in Babies; Baby Skin Care; Safe Transportation; How to Act in Case of Falls, Burns and Choking; Fever, Vomiting and Diarrhoea: When to Seek Help – Children Without Pain Project; Childhood Obesity; Childhood Diabetes; Demystify Enuresis (Bed Wetting); Hyperactivity: Reality or Fad? Overcome School Difficulties, and lastly The Risks of the Internet, prepared by Inspector Ricardo Valadas of the Judicial Police of Faro.
The session was closed by Dr Bacalhau, who symbolically handed out the goods donated by the HPA staff to the institutions that were present, and thanked all those who were so altruistically involved.

New Paediatric Service of Gambelas marks 21 years of HPA

The new 24-hour Emergency Service for Paediatrics of the Hospital de Gambelas was officially inaugurated on 12 May, an event that coincided with the HPA Health Group’s 21st anniversary.
Independent from the Adult Healthcare Service area, this facility gained more amplitude, functionality and comfort, with a pretty waiting room and an observation room comprising seven treatment stations: five beds and two armchairs.
At the ceremony, which was attended by the Mayor and Vice-Mayor of Faro, there was also a communications session, where Paediatric Coordinator, Dr Luis Gonçalves presented the history and evolution of the service. Since 2010, the maternal-child health section has grown substantially, currently giving more than 14,000 consultations and more than 15,000 emergency services per year, plus around 600 hospitalisations, which corresponds to an overall increase of 500% in six years.
Despite the brief history of the service it is already a benchmark of the Hospital de Gambelas, to offer all of the services in human and technological terms that allow us to take care of premature babies at any gestational age until their recovery, without after-effects or with the minimum possible, affirms Dr Luís Gonçalves, referring to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
If we add up all of the paediatric services and facilities, around 50 thousand children have been attended at the Hospital de Gambelas, a number that is of great pride to this team, concludes this paediatrician.