The Royal Liverpool is currently the national lead centre for airborne High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID), and one of the five active commissioned centres in the UK. This exercise was a repeat of the 2015 simulation, and reviewed previous procedures based at the ‘old’ Royal.
Working alongside our HCID team, including the Critical Care and A&E teams they established the most convenient hospital routes, reviewed and re-confirmed procedures, and tested equipment for the eventuality of bringing an infectious patient to hospital using an Air Transportable Isolator (ATI). The ATI is a vital piece of equipment, which acts like a secure ‘bubble’, used to transport the patient and contain the spread of diseases.
Mike Beadsworth, Airborne HCID National Director, said: “This training exercise is really important, so we know what to expect if a highly infectious patient arrives in our hospitals. It maintains our skills and competency, and ensures we have a process established so that we’re prepared and trained to handle the situation. It also helps our newer colleagues to see the equipment the RAF use, such as the ATI, allowing all to better understand what treatment is possible while the patient is being transported into our care.”
Alongside our medical experts, Squadron Leader Tez Cooling and Corporal Enock Morgan transported the ATI to simulate the patient transfer into our HCID rooms on Ward 8A and into Critical Care HCID rooms at the Royal and then spent the afternoon with our teams to ensure the processes are well rehearsed and to identify any potential improvements to the procedures.