Imperial College Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS), led by Prof Roger Kneebone and Dr Fernando Bello, have been using their pioneering work around engagement and simulation to help benefit the More Smiles Appeal.
The appeal is raising funds for the redevelopment and expansion of the paediatric intensive care unit at St Mary’s Hospital. The ICCESS team designed and delivered a simulation event at Wetherby Preparatory School on 2nd February 2016 that featured a team of clinicians from the unit demonstrating the high level of care they provide despite the constraints they are placed under in terms of space. The school is supporting the appeal and the event was held for a group of parents, many of whose children were born at St Mary’s.
This was the second simulation that ICCESS have delivered in support of the appeal, the first taking in place at the Home House private members club in June 2015. The Wetherby school event was a huge success, raising a six-figure sum in donations. Maurice O’Connor, Appeals Manager at Imperial College Healthcare Charity, is directly involved with the More Smiles Appeal, and was delighted with what the event achieved: ‘We could not have achieved this without the help and support of ICCESS. In the right circumstances simulation is a powerful fundraising tool!’
ICCESS are pioneers of Sequential Simulation, which is the physical re-enactment of a patients care pathway through the healthcare system. It utilises real clinicians and clinical props to provide expertise and context to the issues being explored. ICCESS’ Sharon-Marie Weldon, who has developed the concept and successfully designed and delivered numerous simulation events, has seen first-hand how Sequential Simulation serves as a valuable means of engaging people with the world of medicine: ‘Sequential Simulation is a way of utilising the benefits of simulation to recreate aspects of care, but with a much wider scope, creating a juxtaposition of the healthcare system that can be used for a variety of objectives; education and training, evaluation, care re-design, quality improvement, and patient and public engagement – as we saw with the More Smiles Appeal event’.
To hear more about the More Smiles Appeal contact Maurice O’Connor on 02033125696 or to donate to the appeal, please visit www.moresmiles.org.uk
For more information about Imperial College’s Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science (ICCESS), please contact Duncan Boak at iccess@imperial.ac.uk
