Training for the ‘New Normal’
Healthcare is always evolving – but as technology advances, patients are changing too. We’re living longer, we have more chronic conditions, and we’re also getting heavier.
Recent figures show that 64% of UK adults are now overweight, with 26% of us living with obesity. In the US it’s 42%.
Obesity brings many challenges in healthcare, and clinical staff caring for them need specialised training.
This might include specific techniques for moving and handling, expertise on using specialised equipment like hoists, care plans reflecting respiratory issues and skin integrity, or psychosocial support for those facing stigma due to their weight.
Today these issues have already become the norm for many healthcare professionals. As Jake Rahman from The Simulation Collective says – in our hospitals and care homes “a size eight or ten patient is now the minority”.
Step forward the R42.
The R42 is a hyper-realistic manikin created to address a critical gap in realistic training. Its focus is on inclusivity and realism, and has been designed specifically to teach healthcare professionals how to treat bariatric and obese patients competently and empathetically.
Designed in and built in the UK by The Simulation Collective and RIB Productions, the R42 represents female patients with extreme obesity (formerly termed morbid obesity) who qualify for bariatric care. That’s typically those with a body mass index (BMI) of over 40. The R42 name reflects that key American obesity statistic.
The manikin’s body mimics the weight and challenges of caring for, and transferring, a bariatric patient, in their journey through the healthcare system. As obesity levels rise, training tools like the R42 become essential.
The R42 was launched in late 2022 with a Caucasian version, but for 2025 a brand-new variation will be available – a manikin representing a 68-year-old Black African woman. Both patients would be around 22 stone or 145kg, though the manikins are lighter.
The manikin supports training in a wide range of clinical skills, as Isaac Franklin, owner and director at RIB Productions, says:
“This manikin has a grade two airway and if correctly intubated or ventilated will give a chest rise and call. She has a fixed IV point, and you can catheterise her. She also has an incredible range of movements. You can sit her in a chair, wheelchair, in a bed and in all the different hoisting systems you would use for manual handling procedure training.”
The R42 has many other features, including:
Bradley Lawrence, Chief Operating Officer at Simulaids, said:
“The R42 has been a fantastic addition to our range and the most talked about product we offered by far in 2024. Bariatric patients deserve to be treated with safety, comfort, and dignity, and we believe a training tool like this can have a real impact on real-world care scenarios.
“We’re excited to be adding the Black African variation in 2025, and feel having two options for ethnicity further demonstrates the inclusivity that the R42 was designed to promote.”
Bradley Lawrence, Chief Operating Officer at Simulaids, said:
“The R42 has been a fantastic addition to our range and the most talked about product we offered by far in 2024. Bariatric patients deserve to be treated with safety, comfort, and dignity, and we believe a training tool like this can have a real impact on real-world care scenarios.
“We’re excited to be adding the Black African variation in 2025, and feel having two options for ethnicity further demonstrates the inclusivity that the R42 was designed to promote.”
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