Interactive manikin to help train doctors at Horton hospital

An innovative simulation suite to help train doctors and nurses will officially open at the Horton General Hospital tomorrow (Thursday, December 6).
The manikin in the new simulation suite at the Horton General Hospital. Photo: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustThe manikin in the new simulation suite at the Horton General Hospital. Photo: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The manikin in the new simulation suite at the Horton General Hospital. Photo: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

An interactive manikin, control room and live feed will provide trainees with realistic clinical scenarios including sudden changes in a patient's condition and time pressures.

Heart attacks, sepsis symptoms and asthma attacks can be replicated through the manikin, which appears to have a pulse and breathe.

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It is hoped the joint collaboration between the Education Centre at the Horton and Oxford Simulation, Teaching and Research (OxSTaR) at the University of Oxford will improve clinical care and give trainees an insight into scenarios they are likely to face.

OxSTaR centre manager Rosie Warren said: "I'm really pleased that this simulation suite has come to the Horton General Hospital.

"It gives doctors, nurses and allied health professionals the opportunity to get a realistic idea of what situations they can face when they're working in the hospital.

"They're being observed and from the control room, too, so they can reflect on how they handled the situation and learn from it.

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"The suite is fully interactive, which means the staff in the control room can change the manikin's features and behaviour in line with the trainees' needs or reactions.

"It's an excellent way for trainees to experience what these high-stress situations feel like - you have to maintain clinical care with all sorts of factors coming into play like time constraints, distractions, noise, and then make decisions under pressure.

"By acting these out in the suite, they can learn from their own experiences and take their knowledge into the workplace."

Nuffield Oxford Hospitals Fund (NOHF) awarded £30,000 for the suite, which paid for the cameras and recording system.

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Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust paid for the conversion of the existing seminar room to the suite.

NOHF secretary Richard Sonley added: "We're delighted that our funding has been put to such good use.

"The simulation suite is a really innovative and forward-thinking way of training our staff, and gives them a chance to experience real-life clinical situations in a controlled and safe environment."