Teenagers gain sharp insights from stabbing simulation

A group of teenagers from east London saw first-hand how knife crime affects victims and their families at an event organised by Imperial researchers.

Doctors, nurses, policemen and paramedics staged a life-like simulation in Haggerston Park in which the victim, played by an actor, was stabbed with his own knife that he carried to protect himself.

The teenagers are taking part in Saracens Rugby Club’s Hitz programme, an initiative designed to foster confidence in disenfranchised young people from challenging backgrounds. Some of them have been involved with knives in the past.

The group watched as the victim, a young man, was rushed into surgery in a mock operating theatre. The surgeon had to remove his spleen, a move that would require him to take antibiotics for the rest of his life. She also had to take out a substantial piece of his bowel and connect the open end to the outside of his body. With his intestine unable to process food normally, the victim would have to pass liquid waste through this opening into a bag for the rest of his life.

The group also heard from a real-life victim of knife crime, who told them how the experience had affected his livelihood and relationships.

The event was organised by Mr Howard Tribe and Mr Alexander Harris, part of Professor Roger Kneebone’s group at Imperial College London, and funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Mr Tribe, a surgeon and research fellow in the Department of Surgery and Cancer, said: “The idea was not to tell them that knives are bad as they already know that, but to educate them about the potential personal impact and wider consequences of a stabbing. Hopefully it will give them the knowledge to think differently when they have to make a decision about whether to pick up or use a knife in the future.”

A recent report claimed that over 1,000 people are affected by knife crime in London each month.

Professor Kneebone's group will run a similar simulation at "Imperial Fringe: What makes me me?", a free public event at the Imperial West campus on 12 September.