The PATH to PPE Mastery - Programme for Assessment and Training in HCID (High Consequence Infectious Diseases) PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), Mastery.

Background: High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCIDs), have the potential to cause pandemics and require particular focus for preparedness due to their high mortality rates. The application of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for HCIDs is complex and carries significant risk of Health Care Worker (HCW) contamination if done incorrectly. Previous reviews have reported a lack of information on the nature of training provided and the ideal timing of repeat training to best retain skills. Simulation Based Mastery Learning (SBML) is a methodology for skill acquisition which encompasses deliberate practice and repeated assessment until the learner achieves a pre-set Mastery standard. SBML has been demonstrated to improve competence, skill retention and patient outcomes in other clinical procedures. SBML has not been previously studied or utilised in HCID PPE training. Aim: We aimed to increase the likelihood of safe clinical practice by evidencing that Lothian modified SBML for PPE effectively prepares our priority learners. Methods: A quasi-experimental within group post-test design was used. Learners undertook a modified SBML programme which included two-hour asynchronous and two-hour synchronous components. Findings: 11 learners (10 infectious diseases registrars and 1 infectious diseases consultant) were enrolled in the programme with 8 completing all stages, all of whom achieved the Mastery passing standard. The resources were highly rated by learners with the exemplar videos of skills highlighted as particularly useful. Self-assessed preparedness for each skill increased following pre-learning and synchronous sessions. Conclusion: Modified SBML can be used as an effective methodology for the training and assessment of HCWs in the donning and doffing of HCID PPE.

A unified personal protective equipment ensemble for clinical response to possible high consequence infectious diseases: A consensus document on behalf of the HCID programme.

The importance of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) as a component of healthcare worker (HCW) protection was highlighted during the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa. The large number of HCW deaths in Africa was in part due to lack of resources or prior training in PPE usage. As part of the Ebola legacy, the High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) programme was initiated by NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to improve preparedness for Ebola and other infections that not only endanger the life of the patient, but also pose particular dangers to HCWs. A systematic review identified national standardisation of PPE protocols as a priority, but recognised that a lack of safety data limited the ability to mandate any one protocol. A simulation-based exercise was developed to assess the safety of PPE ensembles in use in the UK during first assessment of a patient with a possible HCID. A mannequin was adapted to expose volunteer HCWs to synthetic bodily fluids (vomit, sweat, diarrhoea and cough), each with a different coloured fluorescent tracer, invisible other than under ultraviolet (UV) light. After exposure, HCWs were examined under UV lights to locate fluorescent contamination, and were screened again after removing PPE (doffing) to detect any personal contamination. The exercise was videoed, allowing retrospective analysis of contamination events and user errors. The simulation testing identified significant HCW contamination events after doffing, related to protocol failure or complications in PPE doffing, providing conclusive evidence that improvements could be made. At a workshop with an expert stakeholder group, the data were examined and a unified PPE ensemble agreed. This ensemble was then tested in the same simulation exercise and no evidence of any HCW contamination was seen after doffing. Following further review by the working group, a consensus agreement has been reached and a unified 'HCID assessment PPE' ensemble, with accompanying donning and doffing protocols, is presented here.

Musculoskeletal manifestations of Ebola virus.

The 2014 West African Ebola virus disease outbreak shocked the world as it swept through the region leaving Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone struggling to gain control. As the largest Ebola virus disease outbreak to date, there are more survivors in its wake than ever before, with a spectrum of health problems requiring management. Here we review various musculoskeletal manifestations of the virus that can occur both during and after the infection, and consider possible pathogenesis.