Surgical training first for rural doctors

Published On Wed 8 May 2019 by Grant Hill

Medics from the University of Dundee will next week embark on a road trip that will see them teach surgical skills to doctors in the most remote part of Scotland for the first time.

The team from Dundee Institute for Healthcare Simulation (DIHS) will be working from NHS Education for Scotland’s Mobile Skills Unit which provides simulation-based training for all kinds of NHS staff across the country. DIHS will be delivering surgical courses to GPs in Shetland on 16 and 17 May. This is the first time that surgical techniques will be taught from the Mobile Skills Unit, which has primarily been used to teach clinical skills.

Dr Vanessa Kay, co-director of DIHS, said, “Healthcare staff in rural areas find it harder to take time off to travel to training sessions where they can learn new skills but geography is no excuse for patients in rural areas not having access to the best care possible.

“For many years, we have been delivering training in a wide range of surgical skills to GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and other professionals but this is first time we have taken our training on the road in this way.

“We will be delivering the sessions on how to perform minor surgical procedures from the vehicle, which is fitted out with state-of-the-art simulation equipment. We are very excited to see how this goes and hope to extend this service to other remote areas of the country in future.”

Andrea Baker, Clinical Skills manager of NES, said, “It’s essential that wherever you are a patient in Scotland, you can be treated to the highest standards. Clinical skills are the ‘touchpoint’ of the health service and are therefore key to the delivery of person-centred care. This Unit and the teams who operate from it, are an essential part of bringing latest techniques to all parts of Scotland.”

The new Mobile Skills Unit was formally launched by Cabinet Secretary Jeane Freeman on 20 September 2018.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 384768
Mobile: 07854 953277
Email: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk