The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, an acute care hospital in Adelaide, has started using virtual reality technology from Vantari VR to train doctors and students in medical procedures in the ICU.

WHY IT MATTERS

For the first time, TQEH is taking a simulated learning approach to train its ICU clinicians. It seeks to standardise ICU training to reduce medical error and raise training outcomes, which in turn will ensure positive patient outcomes. A recent study by researchers from the University of Wollongong found the Vantari platform to help minimise medical error by 40%, improve training performance by 32%, and raise adherence to safety and hygiene by 39%. 

"Historically, ICU clinicians have widely taken a 'see one, do one, teach one' approach, which leaves room for error if the procedure studied is not conducted accurately. Not only does this pose a risk to the accuracy in which the clinician then goes on to perform the procedure, but also to those junior clinicians they go on to teach in the future," Dr John Raj, senior ICU consultant at TQEH, explained.

"Standardisation of medical procedures in the ICU setting is extremely important in determining if a procedure is successful. For example, when clinicians are put in a central line, each professional possesses their own way of administering certain steps, however, ensuring ICU clinicians are trained in a virtual reality environment aids in instilling standardised habits and step-by-step synchronisation practices when conducting surgeries," he added.

THE LARGER TREND

The 300-bed hospital is the first among healthcare providers in South Australia to adopt VR technology for medical training. Vantari's platform is already being used in hospitals across New South Wales and Western Australia, as well as in the United States. The company is looking to keep up the pace and establish more partnerships in the Middle East, India, and Asia. 

Meanwhile, Vantari just announced that its VR platform now has direct-to-clinician access, allowing healthcare professionals to upskill or refresh their memory of procedures at their own pace at home.