Video will be available shortly

Qualified surgical staff are getting the opportunity to practise and hone their skills - on a dummy masquerading as a man.

In this film, made in 2012, Dr Ruth Francis, Teaching Fellow of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, explains how medical professionals use a realistic simulation mannequin called SimMan to recreate scenarios they could face in theatre.

Some of the things surgery teams may have to deal with in theatre are very rare. The only opportunity they will have to experience them is by running a simulation using a sophisticated mannequin.

The mannequin is fitted with computers which can mimic drug reactions which a real patient may have. It also has speakers installed which can imitate a patient's voice, lung, bowel and heart sounds.