FRIENDS of Harefield Hospital charity have bought a new mannequin, designed to train staff in life-saving techniques, after raising more than £35,000.

With realistic anatomy and skin texture, articulated limbs and joints, the mannequin makes sounds, blinks, breathes and coughs. It can even cry tears and ‘bleed’.

The training aid is a far cry from the origins of medical training, which began with simple training tools, such as a model arm to practise injections.

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Phil Evans, chairman of Friends of Harefield Hospital, said: “We are particularly proud because it is the first ‘big-ticket’ item the charity has bought the hospital.”

It will be used to prepare clinical staff for a range of different scenarios – including emergencies, such as a patient being flown to the hospital’s heart attack centre.