Virtual Training for Ambulance Crews Becomes a Reality

Harmony Studios is proud to announce our partnership with ResponderVR, a provider of virtual First Aid Training to ERS Medical, a leading provider of healthcare transport services. Together, we have launched a revolutionary virtual reality training program that allows paramedics to experience realistic simulations of emergency situations in a safe and controlled environment.

Our VR technology provides a level of immersion and realism that traditional training methods simply cannot match. Healthcare staff can practice their skills and decision-making in a variety of scenarios, including difficult and high-pressure situations, without the need for expensive equipment or real-life patients.

Not only does this improve the quality of training for Healthcare staff, but it also has the potential to save lives in the field by better preparing them for the unexpected.

During the launch training session, Ambulance Care Assistants (ACAs) used VR headsets for CPR refresher training in a virtual room, on a virtual patient. The training session was monitored by a trainer who also logged into the virtual environment to provide guidance. Crews were taken through a real-life scenario of a person collapsing and what they would do until the emergency services arrived. This included removing any dangerous objects, phoning for help and then performing CPR, and putting the patient into a recovery position.

We believe that our VR training program is just the beginning of the potential uses of virtual reality technology in the healthcare industry. We are excited to continue exploring new ways to use VR to improve patient outcomes and advance the field of medicine.

We are thrilled to be working with ResponderVR to bring this innovative technology to Healthcare staff and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on the communities they serve.

Andrew Pooley, ERS Medical’s Chief Executive, explains more: “We are always looking for innovative ways to improve our organisation and engage with our colleagues. With this new platform we wanted to build upon our existing training provision and make it easy for people to update their skills whenever they want to – especially as we have 1300 colleagues spread across 27 sites, nationally.

“This technology allows crews to refresh their training easily without the need for our trainers to be physically present at a site. It isn’t a replacement for our mandatory face-to-face training but adds another fun aspect to the training plan in a convenient and time-efficient way. Trainers can simply log onto a virtual session to be present for additional guidance. Alternatively, crews can book their training session at a time to suit them, which reduces the need for travel.

“The platform is still in its early days of launch and we’re continuously gathering user feedback to build upon. This type of virtual training bridges the gap between a classroom environment for first-hand learning and watching a training video to recap learning.

“Wearing a VR headset and physically performing the training exercises in an immersive virtual environment is a great way for crews to go through the steps and go over vital techniques.”

Harmony Studios were awarded an Innovate UK award in 2020 to evolve their award winning Mixed Reality training developments into an XR platform for the Healthcare Industry. IntellioXR is the product of this and ResponderVRs work with ERS Medical is the first commercial release soon to be followed by new partners in the private and public sectors.

IntellioXR Training Platform for Healthcare from Harmony Studios on Vimeo.