Mobile Skills Unit Update
At the start of June, the Mobile Skills Unit brought clinical skills and simulation training to Shetland! In Brae, thirty enthusiastic school children participated in simulation activities including observing patients, obtaining a NEWS score, the resuscitation of babies and managing collapsed patients on the ward. This included learning about BLS, CPR & AED use. Angus Cooper from the North Trauma Team supported Fire Crews from Scalloway and Brae to rescue two sim casualties from a car and assess a walking casualty.
Next the Mobile Skills Unit travelled onto Yell where school pupils gained valuable knowledge including how to manage anaphylaxis, ECG recognition and CPR.
In Unst there was a multi emergency trauma training event. Emergency teams worked together with a GP and registered nurse. School children also had the opportunity to learn about managing blood types, transfusions, and completing hospital tasks.
In Whalsay the North Trauma Team trained the ambulance service, fire crews and nurses in the management of trauma patients. Other skills taught included needle decompression, breast examination and suture skills.
The MSU travelled onto Lerwick where first responders took part in an exercise rescuing two medically unwell patients. Allied health professionals practiced joint and soft tissue injections and took part in a chest trauma workshop.
July is set to be another busy month for the Mobile Skills Unit with training programmes for RAF medical reservists at Leuchars, the MSU Faculty Development course in Forth Valley and Pitchside Immediate Care training for Scottish Rugby.
The Mobile Skills Unit is a versatile, multi-professional and multi-agency resource. To book the MSU for your region, check out the MSU availability on this calendar.
CSMEN would love to hear about your experience using the Mobile Skills Unit. Please send any feedback to nes.msu@nhs.scot
Foundation Interprofessional Simulation
This is a novel and innovative pilot programme within NHS Lanarkshire with the aim of widespread expansion in the future.
The Foundation Interprofessional Simulation programme is a novel simulation learning course, designed for Foundation doctors and Post-Registration Foundation pharmacists. It involves three immersive simulation scenarios and one video scenario, each followed by an in- depth debrief.
The session was developed collaboratively with Scott McColgan-Smith, Pharmacist and Principal lead for Simulation NES and Jemma Pringle, Medic and Associate Post-Graduate Dean for Foundation Simulation NES, Catie Paton, Associate Director of Medical Education NHS Lanarkshire and Lisa McCarroll, Clinical Skills Specialist, NHS Lanarkshire.
Key learning outcomes included a mixture of technical and non-technical skills, managing complex prescribing issues, practical prescribing issues, critical thinking, communication, decision making and dealing with error and risk. These were explored through the lens of relational co-ordination, how doctors and pharmacists interact with each other and the other members of the multi-disciplinary team. All of this learning is mapped to the UK Foundation Programme Curriculum 2021, the RPS Foundation Pharmacists Framework 2019 and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative Core Competencies 2023.
Simulation Resources in Scotland 2025 Update
The first scoping project was undertaken by CSMEN in 2023 to determine the simulation resources available in the health boards; this was updated in 2024 to include universities and an interactive map and table. We are just starting to contact centres for 2025 information.
The main objective of the project was to enable the sharing of resources (faculty and equipment) within and between health boards by creating a database of where the resources are in Scotland and who is responsible for them.
The project has four outcomes:
- A report containing information on the simulation centres in each health board area;
- An interactive map which enables searching for equipment by location;
- An Excel file with equipment information; and,
- An Excel file with course information.
All these can be accessed on the CSMEN website.
We would be very interested to hear from you if you have used the database. Should we be displaying the information in a more user friendly way? Is there other information we should include in the tables? Do email us on CSMEN@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Thank you in advance for any responses.
Conferences
You can find a link to other conferences relevant to clinical skills and simulation here.
University of Dundee Surgical Skills Centre
Register - https://www.dundee.ac.uk/healthcare-simulation/surgical-skills/upcoming
28 August 2025 Core Skills in Laparoscopic Surgery
17 October 2025 Laparoscopic Suturing
10 November 2025 EAES Laparoscopic Lower GI Surgery
08 December 2025 Intermediate Skills for Laparoscopic Surgeons
15 December 2025 EAES Laparoscopic Upper GI Surgery
BASICS Scotland Update
Please refer to the BASICS Scotland website for all course dates.
SCSCHF Update
Please refer to the SCSCHF website for all course dates.