Online COVID-19 PPE training for NHS workers
The Cineon team responded to the coronavirus pandemic by rapidly making new personal protective equipment (PPE) training for NHS staff set in a ‘Virtual Hospital’.
Assisted by the University of Exeter Cineon were able to rapidly switch focus and create this training in just three weeks.
The online training was based on VR tuition created by Cineon, which teaches nuclear workers how to use protective clothing. It was recreated for online use, for easy access by NHS workers. It was based upon the most up-to-date Public Health England guidance and was free to access.
The team used its expertise to review the complex and rapidly changing guidance in a short space of time and develop this into a coherent and gamified learning environment.
Critically (and in contrast to other Cineon projects which tend to focus on high-end simulations) this project was designed to be accessed remotely on a low-spec office PC so as to be available to all and avoid the need for trainees to be gathered together in one place, providing a more traditional ‘virtual’ learning experience.
What does the training do?
PPE is vitally important for protecting NHS staff, and the Cineon online training helps people better understand the Public Health England guidelines about using PPE.
As NHS staff move around to different parts of hospitals, PPE requirements change. This training teaches staff which PPE items are necessary in which contexts. It also teaches people the correct order for putting on and taking off PPE, to minimise infection risks.
This training was developed using research from the University of Exeter in the science of behavioural learning, by Cineon’s in-house teams, utilising their skills in developing digital and interactive training.
Dr Sam Vine of the University of Exeter and Cineon Training said training via interactive methods was vital in learning new skills.
He said: “Through our research, we know that if people learn in this way, they are more likely to retain the information and more likely to adopt the correct behaviours in the real world. The training is also autonomous and can be delivered remotely, which means it requires fewer resources such as time, space and personnel.”
He added: “We were extremely pleased with both the outcome and positive response this project received.”
This project was a challenge for the Cineon team; however, they were able to grow the team rapidly thanks to funding support from the University of Exeter, which enabled them to produce relevant training in a very short space of time. Working remotely was a challenge, however, everyone pulled together motivated by a strong desire to help.
Cineon Training funded the development of the training, and matched funding was provided by the University of Exeter’s Open Innovation Fund. The project also received support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Accounts scheme.
The project was further supported by Unity Technologies who donated development software along with access to their team collaboration platform, which enabled the development work to be undertaken remotely.
The training is available via Cineon’s online Training Portal.
STUDIO: Cineon Training
