Simulation Suites in the Royal Liverpool and Aintree University Hospitals
The Client and The Challenge
We have worked with Liverpool University Hospitals Trust for a number of years, delivering over a million pounds worth of audio visual equipment across a number of hospitals and centres.
The Trust provides a simulation service across all 3 sites in the Trust, with bespoke simulation suites at the Royal Liverpool and Aintree University Hospitals. The suites at both these sites have been operational for over 15 years, but with increasing demand for simulation in most healthcare curriculums, a significant strain was placed on the old legacy audio-visual (AV) systems used. The systems had always been maintained by the Simulation Department on a very tight budget, replacing and repairing old modules with anything that could be ‘begged, stolen or borrowed’, to patch them up. In the past year several critical failures have resulted in the loss of simulation courses and highlighted the urgent need for completely new installations on both sites.
The Proposal
The department collaborated with Graham Mitchell here at Green Monkey, to design bespoke identical systems to be utilised at both the Royal and Aintree simulation suites. The remit involved an AV solution that was simple to operate and could stream, record, and play back live video. With increasing numbers of participants expected over the next 5 years, it was imperative that we not only stream locally within the department, but to external locations via Microsoft Teams. In the future this would allow us to deliver simulation in a totally different way, with more flexibility for users.
The Installation
The installation of both sites was delivered over a period of a week, with Graham Mitchell acting as lead engineer.
The Result
The Royal Simulation Suite
The Royal Simulation Suite
Aintree Simulation Suite
Aintree Simulation Suite
Screens in action
What The Customer Thought
The installations took place in May 2024, and we are already implementing lots of ideas to improve simulation delivery. Graham has provided a perfect solution that meets all our needs, with a state-of-the-art Roland AV mixer allowing us to combine multiple audio and video sources. This gives us the ability to display several camera feeds and also integrate patient investigations and other resources, to give context to those viewing remotely. The simplicity of the identical systems mean that our staff have very quickly learned to operate and configure the interface, to ensure our learners receive the best possible educational experience. This will not only change how we deliver simulation but will also relieve some of the daily anxiety that our old systems caused!
The Clinical Education Team wish to thank Graham and Green Monkey AV Ltd for their guidance and continued support, and to the I.T. Department at LUHFT for financing the installations.
Tim Parr (Lead for Simulation LUHFT)
