THAMES Valley Air Ambulance is now using virtual reality to train critical care paramedics and doctors in complex surgical procedures.
The charity has been using virtual reality headsets to train crew since 2022, with courses focusing on aircraft emergencies.
However crews can now also practice complex surgical procedures in an immersive environment following funding from the Peter Sowerby Foundation,
The newest virtual reality lessons replicate three procedures described as ‘high acuity, low occurrence’ – or HALO.
Procedures like intubation–when a tube is placed into the trachea to maintain an open airway–and thoracostomy (a surgical hole in the chest wall that allows air or blood to drain) are now practisable in a virtual environment.
It also includes thoracotomies–one of the most major surgical interventions Thames Valley Air Ambulance crews carry out and involve making an incision in the chest wall to gain access to the lungs and heart.
These three interventions all need to be executed correctly on the first attempt, under pressure.
Thames Valley Air Ambulance is is among the first helicopter emergency medical services to use virtual reality in this way and the charity is working on ways to share this training with the wider sector.
Mark Hodkinson, Consultant Paramedic at Thames Valley Air Ambulance, said: “These new virtual reality lessons will form part of our training toolkit, alongside other scenario-based learning involving manikins, bystanders, and real world-style distractions and complications.
“They’ll form part of a blended approach to learning. With virtual reality, plus theory, alongside practice, we’ll be offering our critical care paramedics and doctors the full suite of training.
“Nothing can ever fully replicate that moment a scalpel is in your hand at the scene of an emergency and a person’s life depends on the accuracy of your actions.
“But, with these new immersive lessons added to the range of other realistic training we offer, our crew will be as prepared as it’s possible to be.”
