Birmingham lab ‘revolutionising’ maternity training, says NHS

Amy ColeMidlands Today and

Tanya GuptaBBC News, West Midlands

BBC Staff using the simulation lab are standing around Linda the mannequin who has just given birth. The maternity staff are wearing blue uniforms with yellow name badges and holding a doll baby wrapped in a blanket and with a knitted yellow hat on. There is equipment around them, including a screen. — Staff practise on Linda the mannequin in the simulation laboratory

A simulation laboratory that can be used to recreate emergency childbirth situations for staff learning in a risk-free environment is revolutionising maternity training in Birmingham, the NHS has said.

The unit at Birmingham Women’s Hospital has been funded by a £1m donation from high street fashion entrepreneur George Davies through his charitable trust.

It comes at a time when maternity services across the country are under scrutiny, following the Ockenden Report on Shrewsbury and Telford NHS.

Consultant neonatologist Matt Nash said: “The Ockenden report actually outlined that teams who work together need to train together, and simulation is the absolutely right way to do that.”

A key component is an interactive screen which places the team in different surroundings, such as a theatre setting or the inside of a helicopter

Hospital staff are working in the simulation room. An interactive screen around the room creates the environment they are practising for. There is a bed and other equipment in the room itself. — A key component is an interactive screen which places the team in different surroundings, such as a theatre setting or the inside of a helicopter

The laboratory has areas kitted out as “real life” working wards, including a delivery room, a neonatal unit and a theatre.

Scenarios that can be simulated include a home birth and a baby being born in a car park, then being moved with its mother to the delivery room, and then to the neonatal intensive care unit.

Staff in a control room give instructions about the scenario to the people in the lab

Hospital staff are using a microphone to give information to people in the lab about the unfolding emergency scenario. Two women are standing watching the screens showing what is happening in the lab. — Staff in a control room give instructions about the scenario to the people in the lab

Mr Nash, clinical director for maternity and neonatal care, said: “We’re able to get the neonatal teams and maternity teams, obstetricians, ancillary staff, theatre staff all together to be able to run through acute scenarios, to make sure that it’s as safe and effective as possible.”

The laboratory is for use by teams at the Women’s Hospital and hospitals across the region.

Consultant neonatologist Matt Nash said simulation was the right way to train staff

Consultant neonatologist Matt Nash is standing in a hospital area. He is wearing maroon scrubs with his name on his top. He has a beard and is wearing glasses. There is hospital equipment behind him and a brightly coloured picture. — Consultant neonatologist Matt Nash said simulation was the right way to train staff

Perpetual, mother to five-year-old twins, was hospitalised with Covid in 2020 and was so ill she was put in an induced coma.

Her twins were delivered by Caesarean section at 26 weeks in a high-risk operation.

Perpetual, a hospital consultant, said any effort to enhance maternity care was crucial, adding: “This is an added advantage to training, which we didn’t have before. So I think personally, as a mum, that gives me huge reassurance.”