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Life Saving Skills and Essential Obstetric Care (LSS EOC)

To Register Contact our Admissions Team [email protected] or Tel: 0151 705 3266

 

Background of the Course

In 2006, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) developed a standardised 3-day “skills and drills” training package in Life Saving Skills – Essential Obstetric Care.  The training package is based on the WHO Manual: Integrated management for Pregnancy and Childbirth and has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Making Pregnancy Safer, WHO and in consultation with a wide group of experts from a multidisciplinary background (including midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians, public health specialists and anaesthetists) with extensive practical experience of maternal and newborn health in resource poor areas as well as educational methods.
“I really enjoyed the course, thanks. The practical sessions were really useful. All the consultants/midwives were very good at explaining things and approachable enough to ask lots of questions.” (2011)

 

Maternal and Newborn Mortality and Morbidity

Each year, more than 536,000 women worldwide die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth – that is one every minute!  Many more survive but will suffer ill health and disability as a result of these complications.  In addition, an estimated 4 million neonatal deaths occur each year accounting for almost 40% of all deaths under 5 years.  More than ¾ of all these deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.  The health of the neonate is closely related to that of the mother and majority of deaths in the first month of life could also be prevented if interventions were in place to ensure good maternal health.

 

Programme Introduction

At least 80% of all maternal deaths result from five complications that are well understood and can be readily treated: (1) haemorrhage, (2) sepsis, (3) eclampsia, (4) complications of abortion and (5) obstructed labour.  We know how to prevent these deaths – there are existing effective medical and surgical interventions that are relatively inexpensive.
“Overall the course was extremely useful. The course facilitators were fantastic – very knowledgeable, realistic and encouraging. I now feel much more confident in management of obstetric emergencies and overall feel the course was well worth doing" (2011)
To reduce maternal mortality it is important that all women have access to maternal health care services, particularly skilled attendance at birth and timely access to Essential (or Emergency) Obstetric Care (EOC) when an obstetric complication occurs.  Two levels of EOC can be distinguished BEOC and CEOC:
Basic Essential Obstetric Care (BEOC) – 7 signal functions:

  1. Parenteral Antibiotics
  2. Parenteral oxytocics
  3. Parenteral anti-convulsants
  4. Manual removal of a retained placenta
  5. Removal of retained products of conception by Manual Vacuum Aspiration
  6. Assisted vaginal delivery (vacuum extraction)
  7. Resuscitation of the newborn (using bag and mask)

Comprehensive Essential Obstetric Care (CEOC) – 9 signal functions:

  1. All 7 BEOC functions (above)
  2. Caesarean Section
  3. Blood Transfusion

“This training package has been enthusiastically embraced by health care providers across the world, demonstrably increasing knowledge and skills, improving teamwork and encourages uptake of evidence based clinical practice, reducing morbidity and case fatality rates” - Dr Nynke van den Broek, Head of LSTM’s Maternal & Newborn Health Unit.

 

Who Should Attend

This course is suitable for Health Care Providers such as nurses, midwives, clinical officers, medical assistants, doctors, obstetricians and Skilled Birth Attendants.  A Skills Birth Attendant (SBA) is defined as a health provider who has at least the minimum knowledge and skills to manage normal childbirth and provide basic (first line) emergency obstetric care.  This course would be especially useful for health care providers who may be going to work overseas in a resource poor area.

 

A Complete Learning Package

The training is delivered using a mixture of interactive continuing medical education techniques which include lectures, scenario teaching, skills teaching, demonstrations and workshops.  The structure and method of delivery strongly encourages evidence-based practice through sharing of good clinical practice and dialogue between participants and facilitators.

 

Course Content

The course is designed to cover the five major causes of maternal death (haemorrhage, sepsis, eclampsia, complications of obstructed labour and abortion) as well as Newborn Resuscitation and Early Newborn Care.  It focuses on the signal functions of CEOC (9) and BEOC (7).  There are a number of core modules which include the following:

In addition, there are sections on specific surgical skills including: