Twenty-three emergency services crews and medical professionals spent an hour treating a simulation manikin that had sustained  a number of injuries including mild head trauma, bleeding, a collapsed lung and shock.

Orange Health Service  education service manager Andrew Elms, who helped organise the training event, said it was a “huge success”.

“At the debriefing afterward the most common thing we heard people say was ‘when can we do it again?’,” Mr Elms said.

Mr Elms said the lifelike attributes of the simulation manikin were integral to ensuring the event’s success.

“Other than getting up and walking, he does most other things,” he said.

Mr Elms said the paramedics and firefighters were pleased to have been able to watch what happens when they hand a patient over to hospital staff following a rescue, with the exercise further strengthening the relationship between the services.

As a result of Tuesday’s exercise, firefighters have now been invited to join paramedics and hospital staff in patient briefings.

“The big bonus was to see the communication between everyone working so successfully,” Mr Elms said.

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