A PRETEND patient who changes sex at a moment’s notice and can answer back is helping Winchester hospital staff improve their skills.

High-tech dummies are part of a new simulation suite at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. The manikins, known as “SimMan”, are part of a £350,000 investment in teaching clinical skills to staff, whilst helping to create a ward-like environment at the hospital’s education centre.

The state-of-the-art dummies can breathe, display symptoms of medical conditions and are linked to a monitor showing blood pressure, heart rate and other life signs.

Students can practise skills from basic resuscitation to inserting breathing tubes and chest drains. Each has a pulse and replaceable skin and veins to allow clinicians to insert intravenous tubes and perform injections They can be programmed to respond to questions and can even change sex so gender-specific procedures can be carried out.

SimMan training has already begun for staff at Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust. At least 50 clinicians will use the training suite each month.

The trust is also offering the training to other organisations, Dr Matthew Inada-Kim, acute care consultant, said: “It’s a first-class facility, which enables staff to learn and rehearse procedures from the simple to the complex. Being able to perfect clinical techniques without practising on real patients is a huge benefit.”