Welcome to the website for the "Saving Mothers with Advanced Simulation of High-risk Situations (SMASH)" course (formerly "Saving Mothers' & Babies' Lives" course).

We run a multi-professional obstetric emergencies course for practitioners from all disciplines involved in the care of women during antenatal, intra-partum, and post-partum periods. We also cover skills required in providing immediate care to the newborn.

The course is specifically designed to bridge the gaps in skills and experience in the management of rare obstetric emergencies. Such deficiencies have been repeatedly identified and highlighted by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH).

We have based the design of the course on well researched techniques and tools (see research). The evaluations of these techniques has ranged from "lab" evaluations through to clinical settings where improvement in clinical outcomes has been demonstrated.

Plenty of Top Tips provided by a faculty made up of a multi-professional team of experienced obstetricians, midwives, and anaesthetists.

Please click HERE to view a selection of feedback comments from the last course that was successfully held in July 2008.

Course highlights

Responsive and adaptive course content: The course covers basic curriculum topics as well as areas identified by national organisations (CEMACH, NPSA, HCC) as being particularly poorly managed.

Multi-professionally run: The faculty are themselves a multi-professional team. We do not only teach, but we also demonstrate the importance of good communication and teamworking in dealing with specific emergencies.

Multi-professional attendance: In order to ensure balanced team structures, attendants numbers are restricted according to their educational background and usual job. Candidates are only taught skills that are relevant to their normal work.

Course evaluations: We conduct course evaluations using standard as well as emerging and state of the art tools. You may be asked to participate in a research project that is part of this.

Evidence based: As an adaptive course, we change the material in light of new evidence (following strict scrutiny of course).

Top tips: Everybody needs to know a few tips of the trade. There will be plenty to share with you.