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We are a teaching hospital – COVID-19 up-skill course

Posted: 8 April 2022

Picture of a student in full personal protective equipment handling a machine on a ward
As COVID-19 began to reach its peak in the first wave in 2020, it was vital that critical care staff had access to the latest training and development resources to ensure that they could provide the best care for our patients.

In response, the trust held simulation training sessions to deliver the COVID-19 Skill-Up Course for staff based in high risk areas (such as in our intensive care unit, emergency department, anaesthetics and COVID-19 dedicated wards).

The COVID-19 Skill-Up Course, accredited by the Royal College of Anaesthetists, aimed to train healthcare professionals on equipment they might be unfamiliar with in preparation for the initial spike.

Staff were trained on equipment such as anaesthetic machines that were used as additional ventilators and in donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) according to the local guidelines.

More than 200 staff took the course and as a result 70% felt confident that they could manage COVID-19 and 85% felt confident donning and doffing PPE.

The course enabled staff to care for patients who were often very unwell and with much greater care needs, and readied them to be able to react to sudden changes in their patients.








  1. For more information, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. For out of hours media enquiries please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
  2. West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
  3. For more information about our hospitals, visit www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk. You can also join our followers on Twitter (twitter.com/westhertsNHS) and find us on Facebook (facebook.com/westhertsNHS).