Trainee NHS medics to practice on ‘realistic’ obese manikins created ‘in bid for medics to be more inclusive of overweight patients’

Trainee NHS nurses will practice on a ‘realistic’ obese manikin so they can become ‘inclusive’ of overweight patients. 

Medical students at Aston University, Birmingham are also being taught how to do CPR and insert intravenous lines on the female dummy.

In the face of Britain’s ever-expanding waistline, medics-to-be will also learn how to handle larger patients and intubate them. 

Such procedures can often be trickier in overweight patients because they have a higher percentage of adipose tissues, fat tissue, making veins for instance, more difficult to access. 

Creators of the dummy — made with a built-in skeleton and large breasts, to reflect the actual body shape of fat people — hope it will teach students how to care for and move larger patients with dignity. 

Medical students at Aston University, Birmingham are also being taught how to do CPR and insert intravenous lines on the female dummy. In the face of Britain’s ever-expanding waistline, medics-to-be will also learn how to handle larger patients and intubate them 

Such procedures can often be trickier in overweight patients because they have a higher percentage of adipose tissues, fat tissue, making veins for instance more difficult to access. Creators of the dummy — made with a built-in skeleton and large breasts, to reflect the actual body shape of fat people — hope it will teach students how to care for and move larger patients with dignity

Typical manikins used in medical training are ‘little more than beanbags’, argued the team who made it. It is dubbed R42, representing the 42 per cent of US adults who are overweight

Latest NHS data shows 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and a further 38 per cent are overweight but not obese. 

Typical manikins used in medical training are ‘little more than beanbags’, argued the team who made it. 

It is dubbed R42, representing the 42 per cent of US adults who are overweight.

Other larger manikins are already used in medical training around the world.  

But Aston University, who created the device with consultancy firm Simulation Man, claimed R42 is the first realistic one.

The first female manikin will be installed at the university for students to use in December, with a second in early 2024. 

Developers are also currently exploring options to create additional manikins to reflect ethnic diversity in the UK. 

Professor Liz Moores, deputy dean of the college of health and life sciences at Aston University, said: ‘Lots of patients are overweight so it’s useful to have experience with overweight patients. 

‘As a female obese manikin, this also has large breasts. 

‘We want our students to know how to resuscitate people irrespective of body type.

Around two thirds of over-16s in England (64 per cent) are overweight, including tens of thousands who are morbidly obese. Obesity rates have been on the rise for decades, with experts blaming sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets. They are also soaring in children, with a quarter of children in reception now considered overweight, and one in ten obese

The first female manikin will be installed at the university for students to use in December, with a second in early 2024. Developers are also currently exploring options to create additional manikins to reflect ethnic diversity in the UK, the team told MailOnline

‘Whilst diversity in manikins has already extended to skin tone, age and more recently certain disabilities, there are no realistic looking and feeling obese manikin available in the UK. The development of R42 is really important.’

Meanwhile, Jacob Rahman, of Simulation Man, added: ‘This will be a global product. 

‘I think we have thus far really underestimated the impact and global reach this will have. 

‘The key aspect is students will learn how to have empathy with obese patients, how to be inclusive, and to make sure that they are aware of unconscious bias. 

‘There is a case for every medical and nursing university in the world to have one.’ 

Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum told MailOnline: ‘Manikins are absolutely essential in training to-day’s medical staff — or any staff required to move overweight people in either hospital or community. 

‘The safety of both staff and patient whenever, the latter is being moved, is of paramount importance. 

‘This Aston manikin is the latest version of a device that has been in use for some fifteen years and is also used by all the country’s rescue services for training fire crews in their job of rescuing people from their homes.’

Obesity rates have been on the rise for decades, with experts blaming sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets.

Waistlines have also soared in children, with a quarter of children in reception now considered overweight. One in ten are classified as obese. 

Being an unhealthy weight raises the risk of serious and life-threatening conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and strokes. 

Obesity costs the NHS around £6.5billion a year.