Staff Training Equipment
We provide iPads for staff in the Great North Children’s Hospital and the Nectar Team’s HQ to deliver training.
This training is available to all the hospitals across our region that are linked to the GNCH (including Whitehaven and Carlisle). We also fund the amazing software that is used on the iPads to create real life situations for staff in a simulation (Called SimMon – for Simulation Monitor).
One iPad is placed next to the ‘patient’ which is a medical manikin, and the other is controlled by the doctor or nurse in charge of the session – who is based out of the room. The controller iPad can then be used to change the monitor unit of the ‘patient’ meaning staff have to respond to the situation and diagnose/treat the changes the ‘patient’ is displaying.
These situations have had a huge impact on staff, who have fed back that their practice was improved immediately as being able to be in a stressful situation (where no patient was at risk) and reflecting on it as a training exercise meant they could identify ways to improve what they were doing. But, more incredibly, the simulations have also flagged up some learning points for staff which has actually gone on to save children’s lives… how amazing is that?!
There is no comparison for staff treating a child in a life threatening situation, but the closest thing is what we are able to help the Great North Children’s Hospital to provide.
The Nectar Team run sessions for staff from hospitals all across the region, and for doctors in training. The teams in Newcastle provide specialist care for a huge range of medical conditions and injuries, which staff from or regional hospitals rarely experience. Therefore, staff can visit Nectar and be given training on these specialist situations, to better prepare them for if a patient in their area requires attention for something similar. This means staff are much better prepared to stabilise a patient while they await transfer with the Nectar Team to one of the Newcastle Hospitals. Again, it is so important for staff to be able to experience the training in a simulation situation, to get as near to the real thing as possible. Replicating the adrenaline and stress of a situation treating a patient in a variety of situations is a fantastic way to assess staffs readiness for it, and to review areas of improvement.
We are so proud to help the wonderful medical educators provide this cutting-edge training which is making a huge difference to staff, and ultimately, saving children’s lives in our region!
