8 March 2011
Epsom and St Helier hospitals are launching the UK's first ever A&E (accident and emergency) based training course for people preparing to travel to conflicts and hostile environments around the world.
From this summer, international journalists, business travellers, and those working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will receive expert tuition from doctors and nurses in the hospitals' busy A&E departments.
The theory-based 'BTEC level 3 advanced trauma care course', run by Andrew Kain Enterprises Ltd (AKE), will now include a practical element - the first of its kind in the UK.
Those who successfully complete the course will spend five days living at Epsom and St Helier hospitals, observing patients being treated in the A&E departments during the day, and joining doctors 'on call' as they attend to patients needing emergency treatment at night.
Dr Carole-Ann Johnson is an A&E consultant and leads the Trust's two busy A&E departments. She said: "Hostile environments pose obvious threats from being under fire and explosive devices, but there are other serious considerations: road traffic accidents in particular are very frequent.
"During their placement at Epsom and St Helier hospitals, the students will learn from observing everything from minor injuries - such as how to splint ankle and wrist fractures, and deal with cuts and burns - through to major cases where patients have multiple injuries, may be unable to move, or require resuscitation."
Practical topics include how to quickly assess injured colleagues, how to apply dressings effectively, and the basis of making safe decisions if people become badly injured.
Dr Johnson added: "We are very proud to be the first hospitals in the UK to offer this kind of training and support. Our A&E teams have years of experience of making very fast decisions about the best way to treat injured patients and, by letting participants learn from real-life situations, we are sure they will learn invaluable practical experience which will help to keep them safe, and could even save their lives."
Paul Brown, Medical Director at AKE, said: "The AKE training methodology is a compelling combination of lectures, reading, outdoor exercises and experiential learning, covering the recognition and treatment of trauma in isolated or hostile areas, climatic conditions, common infectious diseases, medical emergencies and road traffic accidents".
