Lord Darzi Visits Trust's State-Of-The-Art Simulation Centre, England

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 02 Oct 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Staff at Guy's and St Thomas' were delighted to show Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lord Darzi and NHS Chief Executive David Nicholson some of the latest equipment being used in the clinical skills and simulation centre at Guy's Hospital when they visited last Thursday .

Lord Darzi and David Nicholson met and chatted with staff, including doctors from a wide range of medical and surgical specialties who deliver an extensive programme of multi-professional training in the centre - and they were also able to 'road test' some of the new equipment for themselves.

As well as recreating a ward environment where staff can practice skills such as resuscitation and anaesthesia, they were shown training simulators and mannequins that allow doctors to practice the techniques needed to perform key hole surgery, to give epidurals (pain relief injected into the spine) and to deal with a woman going into unexpected labour and presenting with complications.

Lord Darzi said: "This centre is a clinical and cost-effective way of making sure everyone can experience what best practice looks like. It gives staff the ability to test new procedures and also how they all work together as a team. Most importantly this kind of innovative training will improve the quality of care given to patients."

Deputy Medical Director, Diana Hamilton-Fairley said: "Although the simulators will never be a replacement for experience gained treating real patients, they undoubtedly have a role to play in professional education, both for doctors and staff such as nurses and allied health professionals who need to work closely and effectively together in potentially stressful or emergency situations.

"Allowing people to learn and practice their skills in a simulation centre setting is an increasingly important part of the overall training experience and has been shown to improve patient safety as it allows staff to review and reflect on how they interact with 'patients' and other staff."

The visit formed part of a national series of events to discuss the implementation of the recommendations set out in High Quality Care for All, the NHS Next Stage Review into the future of health services which was led by Lord Darzi and published in July.

Guy's and St Thomas' is one of five simulation centres in London to have benefited from London-wide investment in simulation equipment provided by the London Deanery and NHS London.

Notes

1. Guy's and St Thomas' provides around ¾ million patient contacts in acute and specialist hospital services every year. As one of the biggest NHS Trusts in the UK, it employs over 9,000 staff. The Trust works in partnership with the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Biomedical Sciences of King's College London and other Higher Education Institutes to deliver high quality education and research.

Guy's and St Thomas'

2. King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are working together to create a world-leading Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC). Our AHSC brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity.

Academic Health Sciences Centre