Mater Education's OptiSim used to prepare for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly swept the globe, Mater Education conducted simulated activities to prepare Mater Health for the treatment of patients with the virus. This was successfully achieved by assessing the environment, processes and systems of both the medical emergency teams and neonatal resuscitation teams.
The COVID-19 Emergency Response simulation, conducted in Mater Mothers’ Hospital, involved frontline clinical, administration and support service staff. It was the eighth consecutive COVID-19 simulation to take place at the hospital within a period of one week, and the first to call on emergency staff.

Due to the high transfer rate of COVID-19, the simulation maintained emphasis on infection control and proved a vital activity to identify improvements to patient flows and management, and ensure staff could effectively handle COVID-19 cases.

Nicola Mc Glynn, Clinical Care Coordinator, Mater Mothers’ Hospital was involved in the simulation. “To be able to collaborate with the multidisciplinary teams and work together to resolve any issues or concerns was amazing. We are all here for the same reasons, to provide quality, safe care and positive experiences for Mater patients.”

The COVID-19 Emergency Response simulation provided the following key outcomes for Mater:

• Improved communication processes through the use of My Mater Bedside, an internal communications portal in patient rooms.
• Identified complications and implemented improvement measures regarding clinical paperwork, equipment, signage and supplies.
• Tailored environment and equipment to ensure patient and staff safety, following Infection Control guidelines for a COVID-19 patient.
• Opportunity for staff to practice each step of procedures for COVID-19 positive patients in a simulated ward environment.
• Initiated flowcharts and checklists for work organisation and flow to create inter-professional shared mental models for patient care.
• Opportunity to practice of PPE donning/doffing in simulated ‘real-time’ in a ward environment.

Mater Education's OptiSim allows for safer, more effecitve and efficient healthcare delivery. Read more about OptiSim here.