Violent protest drill puts students to the test

Students from the University of Gloucestershire had to respond to a simulated protest gone wrong

A simulated clash between demonstrators and counter-protesters has challenged the skills of students working under pressure.

The mock major incident at the University of Gloucestershire's Oxstalls Campus on Tuesday and Wednesday saw policing, nursing and diagnostic radiography students, among others, working to help injured people and solve difficult circumstances.

Simon Kersey, who organised the event over nine months, said: "The whole simulation was designed to really test [students'] professionalism and their communication skills under pressure."

Gloucestershire Police, St John's Ambulance, and South West Ambulance Service assisted students in their response.

Students performed exercises on dummies at a simulated emergency department

The simulation involved a protest and counter-protest turning into violence.

A car "hit" pedestrians, with students pretending to be injured while covered in fake blood. There was also a simulated incident involving an unknown chemical.

Mr Kersey said: "At the start of the day, students tend to be sat in their groups with their professionals.

"As the day goes on, they get more and more used to talking to and working with colleagues that they'll be working with in practice.

"It builds relationships and professional shared understanding and interprofessional working, which is what we're all about."

The fake injuries were dealt with on-site by paramedic and professional policing students in partnership the NHS and Gloucestershire Police.

The actors were taken by St John's Ambulance across the campus car park to a simulated hospital.

Owen Parker said it meant students were not "thrown in at the deep end" after graduating

Owen Parker, a policing student, said the simulation was intense.

"It's always good to have practicals, I prefer it," he said.

"It's good that the university's doing something like this so we're not getting thrown in at the deep end."

The simulation was kept secret from students until a week before and they were not told specific details about the scenario itself.

The university had warned bystanders they may see something "graphic or disturbing" when passing through the campus.