Junior Doctors get new 'toy' for Christmas

CHRISTMAS has come early for junior doctors at Southport & Formby District General Hospital with the arrival of a state of the art life-size doll. But unlike many that are given to children at Christmas, this one doesn't just close its eyes and say 'mummy' it breathes, has a pulse and blood pressure, can sweat, bleed, react to medicine, hear what the doctors are saying and even talk back to them.

As part of our constant quest to drive up the standard of the care it can provide for patients, Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has invested £80,000 in a state of the art patient simulator as a diagnostic tool of junior doctors, anaesthetists and nurses.

The model, known as SimMan, will be housed in a new extension to the Clinical Education Centre at Southport & Formby District General Hospital due to open on Friday 11 December at 12noon. All of its functions and reactions can be controlled remotely by a tutor from behind a two-way mirror in a room created specially for him in the soon to be opened new extension. The new facilities also include a computer suite, quiet room and tutorial rooms.

Dr Mike Aisbitt, A&E Consultant said:- "SimMan is a tremendous piece of kit and at times frighteningly life-like. This is a great training aid for junior doctors who will use it to learn and hone diagnostic skills in a safe environment and ultimately patients will benefit from this investment. It is very unusual for a hospital of our size to have ready access to such a great educational tool, and to have it housed in room specifically designed for it is a real bonus."

Station improvements for Ainsdale, Merseyside

PASSENGERS are benefitting from a range of new improvements at Ainsdale Station in Merseyside.  The £68,000 works, funded by Merseytravel, include a bigger, sealed waiting area on the Liverpool-bound platform, including automatic entrance doors, more seats, new lighting and state-of-the-art CCTV to evidential standards.

The Southport-bound platform waiting room also has new automatic entrance doors, lighting and has been spruced up as part of the revitalisation of the station.

Councillor Mark Dowd, Chair of Merseytravel, said:- “We hope passengers notice the difference this investment is making. Ultimately, any penny we spend on the rail network is for them.  We are constantly looking for ways to improve standards at station where we can and to make rail travel easier, more comfortable and safer.”

Councillor Chris Blakeley, Chair of Merseytravel’s Rail Services Committee, added:- “This £68,000 investment from us in Ainsdale station is one of many improvements we are making right across the Merseyrail Electrics network. We need to keep building on its success. Where we have the money and a good business case, we’ll continue our improvement programme.”

In addition to Merseytravel’s investment programme, new customer information screens will give passengers running times of trains to and from the station.  The screens have been provided by Network Rail at a cost of around £50,000.