Dummy babies help sharpen surgical skills

The Paediatric and Neonatal Clinical Skills Centre at Sheffield Children's Hospital is thought to be the first of its kind in the country, with technology that will help doctors make lifesaving decisions in difficult cases.

Equipped with the life-like mannequins, it is hoped that the centre, which was funded by the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority, will give doctors the opportunity to practice for "once in a career" crisis moments.

The dummies cry, have a heartbeat and breathing sounds which can be heard with a stethoscope and also allow medical staff to take a pulse. They turn blue when suffering a lack of oxygen and move their arms and legs.

Doctors, nurses and other health professional will be able to practice many complex skills on the simulators which are often carried out under extreme pressure, such as setting up an intravenous drip or an artificial airway.

The Children's Hospital's director of nursing John Reid said: "We have around 300 different pieces of equipment which can be used for simulations which range from a full mannequin to smaller anatomical parts that students can use.

"If you can imagine what it is like for a junior doctor who finds themselves, in the middle of the night, being called to carry out a procedure on a tiny wriggly baby, while being watched by a mother, it doesn't get more terrifying than that.

"These simulators will help all our medical staff be more confident in their skills and will also help more experienced clinicians to develop and maintain skills which they may only need rarely, but which could prove vital."

Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said all hospitals have basic training facilities, but these have traditionally required staff to learn from the experience of real patients and were not specialised for children.

It is expected that the centre will be used by medics from across the north of England to ensure that they have the skills required to deal with children and babies to ensure that every child receives the best care possible.

Dr Steve Hancock, an intensive care consultant said the baby simulator, which is called the Sim New B, would cost around 20,000 which includes the specialist computer programming which allows it to behave like a real child.

But he said the skills learned by medical staff and all levels from the simulator could mean the difference between life and death if they could learn how to react quickly to a child suffering from a range of different conditions.

He added: "It might sound strange but you can also make the situation more realistic by using make up and other props or by using other people in the scenario, such as an actor who could be in the room behaving like a parent.

"We have found that this is the best way for people to learn. They can then see how they will deal with a crisis, how to manage the risks of certain procedures and how they should communicate with other members of the team.

"There are often times when people wish they had done something differently and this allows them to look at what they have done and see if there is any way they can make changes to that."

Dr Hancock said the baby mannequins could also be taken onto the wards for what is known as "at the point of care training" which allows staff to train in the wards and operating theatres where they may have to deal with day-to-day cases.

He said this kind of training rarely takes place in hospitals, but is something that is being encouraged to help build confidence and improve standards of care.

Speaking at the opening of the centre yesterday, Nick Jefferies, the chairman of the Children's Hospital Trust said: "This is the first dedicated national training centre for paedatric medicine, which is something quite tremendous."

Safe training for medics

Consultant paediatric surgeon Sean Marven said that the mannequins which will be used for training at Sheffield Children's Hospital opened up a "safe environment" for medics.

Yesterday he was working with one of the dummies, which allow surgeons to practice procedures carried out by keyhole surgery, such as the removal of a gall bladder.

Using specially-made simulated internal organs, staff can improve co-ordination without the fear of making a devastating mistake.

Mr Marven said: "Before this kind of technology the alternative was operating on live or dead animals. I have worked on a lot of pigs. Obviously this is better."