Trauma training simulation for hospital emergency staff
THERE'S doctors and nurses and a patient suffering the severe trauma of a high-speed motorcycle accident, but if mistakes are made nobody will be harmed.
The patient is plastic and the whole scenario is a simulation designed for the emergency department staff to learn in a safe environment.
A hi-tech simulation laboratory was on location at the Coffs Harbour Health Campus on Wednesday giving health professionals from across the Mid North Coast the chance to train locally rather than travel to Sydney.
With $130,000 mannequins that react to treatment like living people, the decisions made by staff are taken very seriously.
Mid North Coast Local Health District simulations manager Rod Peadon said the training day allowed staff to practice working together without any lives being on the line.
"The mannequins breath, you can hear the air going in and out, and their conditions on the monitors get progressively worse," Mr Peadon said.
"They can make a mistake and learn from them in a safe environment."
The free training is provided by the government's NSW Institute of Trauma and Injury Management, the Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre and Careflight.
Staff from Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour hospitals attended the training yesterday.
Mr Peadon said the immersive high fidelity simulation was as real as training could get without using real people.
He said similar simulations allowed staff to respond to rarely seen conditions, develop teamwork skills and hone skills used daily.
