Welsh university simulates factory explosion to train paramedic students
A Welsh university has simulated a factory explosion resulting in multiple casualties as part of a training exercise for paramedic students.
The immersive major incident simulation was carried out by Swansea University and involved staff and members of the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust (WAST)
The scenario was meticulously designed to provide a realistic environment with accurate scenes and injuries, aimed at enhancing the students’ skills in triaging, transporting, and managing patients during major incidents.
Demands
Matt Waters, Lecturer on the Paramedic Science BSc at the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science and co-organiser said the exercise provided students with an understanding of the real world demands they will face.
He said: “One of the most valuable aspects of this exercise is the opportunity for our paramedic students to experience interoperability in action.
“Working alongside other emergency services gives our students first-hand insight into how coordinated, multi-agency responses function in major incidents.
“Understanding each agency’s role and communicating effectively across agency boundaries is vital in any emergency situation, and this exercise reinforces the importance of good collaboration.
“Preparation for the paramedic role isn’t just about clinical skills. It’s about thinking clearly under pressure, managing limited resources, prioritising care, and maintaining professionalism in chaotic environments.
“This exercise places students in exactly those conditions, with the safety net of a simulated setting, helping to build their confidence, resilience, and ability to lead when it matters most.
“These kinds of practical, immersive experiences are what make our programme at Swansea so impactful.
“They ensure that when our students qualify, they are not only clinically competent, but also ready to work as part of a wider emergency response team, with a strong understanding of the real-world demands they will face.”
Intervention
Professor Jayne Cutter, Head of the School of Health and Social Care said: “Patient outcomes are vastly improved with early and effective intervention, and this experience will instil confidence in our students to respond effectively to an actual major incident.
“Training exercises such as these are hugely beneficial to our students are they prepare for their future as practicing healthcare professionals and they go hand in hand with the existing simulation and immersive learning opportunities that underpin all of our healthcare professionals’ training here at Swansea.”
Scott Evans, a third-year paramedic student from Rhondda said of the exercise: “It gave a really good insight into what could potentially happen when working as a paramedic.
“During the exercise my colleagues worked really well together, and it was nice to have the camaraderie and communication.
“I think it is crucial to have this hands-on experience at university, because as third-year students, we qualify in a matter of weeks. It is also paramount for the first-year students that have helped today to see what standard they will need to get to in the future.”
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I’d love to see the student feedback on this exercise. What did they learn? How do they feel it will affect their practice as paramedics? We should learn from every experience. In the aftermath of a particularly terrible mass casualty incident in Belfast, a consultant colleague said “When we began training paramedics we thought that the most important thing was what they could do, whereas, today, it was what they knew that saved lives. If our crews hadn’t triaged their patients well and shifted the less seriously injured away from the major receiving hospital, it’s almost certain that more people… Read more »
When I was training in the Welsh Ambulance Training College at Cefn Coed in Swansea we would do a training exercise with the Fire service at Earlswood. My experience was a multiple RTC. It was very professionally planned with realistic make-up. The feeling that you get while part of the exercise is very real. The training officers both Ambulance and Fire Service were excellent. They would not give us any slack. It is a good way of realising that what you learn in the classroom is not quite as it happens in practice but you have to be able to… Read more »