Objectives

Acutely unwell patients in general practice are uncommon, but their management requires intervention from staff (clinical and non-clinical) working as a team. Despite the advantages of interprofessional education being well documented, there is little research evidence of this in the primary care setting. This study aimed to improve care of the acutely ill patient by enhancing interprofessional working, using in-situ simulation.

Methods

Mixed methods evaluation study. Phase 1 scoped education provision in GP practices within Health Education England Kent, Surrey and Sussex (HEEKSS) via questionnaire to 668 practices. In Phase 2 a simulation of cardiac arrest occurred in three HEEKSS practices; all staff participated in interviews.

Results

Phase 1 showed the majority of practices ran sessions involving all staff, predominantly focusing on basic life support (BLS) (63 practices) and practice-specific areas such as managing difficult patients (28 practices). 61 said simulation was not used; 41 responded that it was, 37 specifying for BLS training. Qualitative thematic analysis identified four themes: 1) apprehension, anxiety, and (un)willing participation, 2) reflection on the simulation design, 3) experiences of the scenario and 4) training.

Conclusions

Practices made changes in their workplace, potentially benefitting the future management of acutely ill patients. The use of actors and involvement of clinical and non-clinical members of staff contributes to a fuller understanding of how in-situ simulation can benefit both workforce and patients.