Simulation training crucial in preparing anaesthetists for Covid-19
Anaesthetists at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust have described the crucial role that simulation training played in preparing them for the Covid-19 outbreak. The Trust was at the forefront of treating patients when the first wave of cases began in early March 2020.
Anaesthetists form the largest single hospital medical specialty and their skills are used in all aspects of patient care. They train in intensive care medicine and work in acute settings gaining an in-depth knowledge of urgent care and resuscitation skills. The nature of this work means that they must be ready to deal with sudden changes in a patient's medical condition, including medical emergencies.
Dr Amardeep Riyat, Consultant Anaesthetist and College Tutor, had seen the challenges faced by healthcare workers in China and Europe when dealing with the virus. He says: "I realised early on that this would be like nothing the NHS had ever faced before. We needed find a way to prepare staff quickly and safely. Simulation training provided the answer.”
The anaesthetics team would face significant challenges when intubating Covid-19 patients including the highly contagious nature of the disease, the need to wear Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and the fact patients would be intubated in unusual locations.
Working together with Dr Rita Russai, Simulation Lead, practical teaching sessions were developed to address these challenges. Infection control requirements for anaesthetists involved strict adherence to PPE and changes in clinical practice.
Dr Riyat explains: “Covid-19 required us to think and work differently. We turned our learning from the simulation training into new operating procedures. This ensured that anaesthetists could work safely knowing that they had undergone the right training and that they had access to the equipment they needed.
Dr Riyat says that starting the training in early March was crucial: “It meant that nearly 60 members of the team had taken part in simulation training before treating patients on the wards. More than eight weeks on we are still running drop-in training sessions on request and are continuing to learn important lessons.”
One of those to who benefitted from the simulation training was Dr Joe Masters, anaesthetic registrar, he says: “The past few weeks have presented a unique challenge for the anaesthetic trainees at the Trust, with all of us working on the edge of our comfort zones. The intubation training sessions led by Dr Riyat in the early stages of the crisis were invaluable in giving us the confidence to manage Covid-19 patients and helped to allay fears that many of us had about our own safety.”