Major trauma: rehabilitation stage
The nurses had little or no experience of skills-based or simulation training. We introduced the idea of simulation learning and ran interactive skills stations where the nurses could practise cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation and basic airway manoeuvres.
The feedback we collected from the participants was overwhelmingly positive and improvements in their reported confidence in the various skills were significant.
We gathered data examining both the characteristics of the ICU and the journeys and experiences of trauma patients. Over one month we conducted a daily audit of the ICU, examining occupancy, staffing, treatments and the characteristics of admissions. We also studied the records of every trauma patient admitted during the month and followed them through until discharge from ICU. Both projects revealed information that will help direct the work of the partnership in the future.