A brand new trauma course for Emergency Department staff was trialled at Doncaster Royal Infirmary last month.
The ‘Trauma Intermediate Life Support’ training is aimed at refreshing the skills that emergency practitioners need when patients with rare, but serious, injuries present at hospital. Called ‘moulages’ the scenarios were acted out by real actors with mock injuries created with special effects make-up.
Staff that took part in the training attended to the patients as they would in a real life situation, diagnosing injuries and sourcing information such as pain levels and exposure to infection to determine what treatment was needed.
The scenarios ranged from a cardiac arrest patient to an elderly confused patient with a chest injury, suspected broken ribs, bruising and bleeding. They also tended to a mock patient who had fallen from a horse, presenting with a broken leg and suspected ruptured spleen and a male patient with severe burns.
Mark Holland, Emergency Department Student Nurse andClinical Support Worker, was among those who completed the training, he said: “The training was a fantastic experience. It was really enjoyable and boosted my confidence in my own skills and competence. The course is great for anyone wanting to recap and improve their clinical and communication skills as well as their knowledge and confidence.”
Alasdair Strachan, Director of Education at the Trust said: “This innovative delivery of trauma training has been very well received. The variety of learning opportunities it offers appeals to all types of learners and using real actors and realistic make up immerses the learner as if it were a real time scenario. There is an underlying focus on patient safety and team approach to the lesson to develop staff to provide the best possible care for the users of our Emergency Department Service.”
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals, who are part of the newly formed South Yorkshire Trauma Network, will be offering the training course to their own emergency staff and those from other hospitals in the region over the next few months.
Please remember to keep the Emergency Department free for those with serious or life threatening conditions and use the NHS 111 helpline, Same Day Health Centre and Minor Injuries Unit at Mexborough Montagu hospital when possible.