Development of an In-Hospital Patient Bank for the Emergo Train Simulation Platform to Enhance Hospital Capacity

Introduction: The Emergo Train System (ETS) is a critical simulation tool widely used to train healthcare professionals for emergency and disaster scenarios. However, traditional ETS applications focus on prehospital mass-casualty events and surge capacity in the acute chain, excluding in-hospital ward dynamics. Here, a specialized patient bank tailored to in-hospital patients enables hospitals to simulate daily operational challenges such as patient surge and, in case of hospital emergency training, evacuation processes. Methods: The patient bank was developed using a structured workflow, which involved defining patient profiles and integrating diverse healthcare needs that reflect the complexities of in-hospital scenarios. The patients in this bank span various medical needs encountered in daily hospital operations, facilitating realistic training in patient management and interdepartmental coordination. The patient bank was pilot tested in exercises at three hospitals to assess its applicability and effectiveness in simulating daily hospital activities and surge capacity. Data were collected through exercise instructor feedback as well as observational analysis to refine patient scenarios and enhance realism. Results: The exercises demonstrated the versatility of the ETS patient bank in simulating real-time hospital operations. Instructors reported a dynamic training experience, highlighting that the bank could be used to improve preparedness for managing in-hospital surge capacity and evacuation processes. Feedback indicated that the simulated scenarios closely resembled daily hospital workflows, enhancing the perceived relevance and practical application of the training. Conclusion: This specialized ETS patient bank addresses a significant gap in hospital preparedness training, providing an innovative tool to simulate routine in-hospital activities and crisis responses. This in-hospital patient bank represents a valuable expansion of ETS, broadening its utility beyond disaster scenarios to hospital preparedness. The successful implementation across multiple hospitals exercises suggests its potential for wider adoption, providing an impactful resource for training healthcare personnel in both routine and crisis settings.