Terms & Conditions
The following Terms and Conditions describe our policies regarding the course and the use of our website.
1. Introduction
1.1 Bristol Clamshell provides the Bristol ED Resuscitative Thoracotomy Course, which is a franchise of the “Coventry Resuscitative Thoracotomy Course”. The aims of this course are:
To create a structured approach for Emergency Resuscitative Thoracotomy for traumatic cardiac arrests in the Emergency Department and how to manage an open chest being received from the pre-hospital setting.
To create a structured approach to patients with penetrating chest trauma who have not arrested.
To understand the equipment, expertise and environment needed to perform a resuscitative thoracotomy
To understand how the chain of survival affects outcomes following resuscitative thoracotomy
To consider how to package a patient for onward transfer for definitive care
1.2 By registering for this course, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to comply with the following terms and conditions.
2. Eligibility & Participant Requirements
2.1 This course is designed for ST4+ doctors, ACCPs/ANPs, and Senior Nurses working in Emergency Medicine, PHEM, Anaesthetics/Critical Care, and Surgical Specialties. Please ensure you suit this criteria prior to booking this course.
2.2 Candidates should have completed ATLS or the European Trauma Course prior to booking onto the Bristol Clamshell. This course is based on the foundational principles of ATLS, and it is assumed that you will come with the knowledge and skills to assess and treat trauma patients. This course does not repeat the teachings of ATLS or ETC, it focuses specifically on the management of penetrating and blunt chest trauma.
3. Course Description
3.1 The course is a full day of immersive training consisting of simulation scenarios, clinical skills stations including wet labs technical skills teaching.
3.2 What is taught on the course?
Clamshell Thoracotomy
Managing a penetrating injury to the right ventricle
Internal defibrillation and Internal Cardiac Massage
Approaches to managing pulmonary injuries
How to work as an effective team when presented with chest wall trauma resuscitation
3.3 Inclusions:
Lunch, tea and coffee.
Pre-course learning e-learning package via CARE
Course Handbook (provided to you on the day)
Certificate from CARE will be provided following course completion.
3.4 Delegate Expectations:
• The course is designed as a safe learning environment; participants are encouraged to engage fully, ask questions, and participate in discussions.
• Participants are expected to rotate through designated roles during simulation scenarios to ensure comprehensive learning and skill development.
• All participants are expected to support their peers’ learning and contribute to a positive educational experience for the group.
• Participants conduct themselves in a respectful, collaborative, and supportive manner toward all attendees and faculty.
4. Registration & Payment
4.1 The registration process occurs via our website: bristolclamshellthoracotomy.co.uk. To ensure clinicians gain the greatest value from the course, we curate a balanced cohort of delegates from a range of specialties. On booking, please select the ticket type that corresponds to your specialty.
4.2 The total cost of enrolment for this course is £250. This includes all materials, lunch and tea/coffee [see section 3.3].
4.3 Payment is via our website booking system. At the time of registration, we collect information such as your grade, specialty, hospital affiliation, and any dietary requirements. This information is used solely for course planning and to ensure we are appropriately informed about our delegates.
4.4 Following payment, you will receive confirmation of your place via email in addition to an invoice.
4.5 If your preferred course date is unavailable, you may join our waitlist, and we will make every effort to offer you a place on a future course. Please visit our bookings page to join our wait list.
5. Cancellations, Refunds & Rescheduling
5.1 Participant-initiated cancellations:
Cancellations made more than six weeks before the course date are eligible for a full refund of the course fee.
Cancellations made within six weeks of the course date are not refundable, unless a replacement delegate can be secured to take your place. We will make every effort to find a replacement participant, and you can also find a replacement candidate but later cancellation means that finding a replacement cannot be guaranteed.
It is the participant’s responsibility to ensure they meet the course criteria outlined above [see 2.1]. We reserve the right to deny attendance to anyone who does not meet these requirements.
5.2 Illness/Exceptional Circumstances:
If you are unable to attend on the day of the course, please contact the course administrator on clamshell.bristol@gmail.com as soon as possible, and we will do our best to accommodate you on the next course with availability.
We will offer you up to three alternative course dates within 18 months.
6. Health & Safety
6.1 Participants acknowledge that the use of surgical and simulation equipment during the course is undertaken at their own risk. The course provider accepts no liability for any injury or damage resulting from such use.
6.2 This course utilises wet labs for technical skill teaching consisting of pig heart and lung blocks.
Gloves and aprons must be worn at all times when handling wet lab specimens.
All gloves, aprons, and contaminated items must be disposed of in the designated “tiger stripe” bags.
Disposable wet lab sharps must be disposed of in the designated wet lab sharps bins.
Hands must be washed thoroughly with soap and water after handling specimens.
Instruments in the wet lab are for training purposes only and must not be removed from the lab.
Handling of medical porcine blocks is entirely voluntary and not mandatory for participation.
Participants who are pregnant or immunocompromised should consult a member of the faculty for guidance and to review the relevant risk assessment.
For further information regarding these requirements, please contact the course administrator [clamshell.bristol@gmail.com]
We recommend wearing casual, comfortable clothing that is suitable for hands on wet lab stations.
7. Liability & Indemnity
7.1 Bristol Clamshell accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage to personal belongings during the course. Participants are responsible for ensuring their own health and safety for the duration of the course, including use of PPE and medical equipment.
8. Intellectual Property
8.1 Course materials are owned and provided by C.A.R.E.
9. Privacy & Data Protection
9.1 Information provided during registration is used exclusively for the purposes of course administration and organisation. Personal data collected for the course is stored securely in accordance with applicable data protection regulations.
9.2 Photography:
By attending the course, you consent to the possibility of being photographed or filmed during course activities. These images or recordings may be used by the course provider for promotional, educational, or marketing purposes including on our website and social media including linked in and X. Images will be processed and stored in accordance with GDPR and can be withdrawn at any time by contacting the course administrator [clamshell.bristol@gmail.com].
10. Accessibility
10.1 We are committed to ensuring accessibility for all participants and will make reasonable adjustments to accommodate specific needs. Please contact the course administrator in advance to discuss any requirements.
11. Website Access and Usage
11.1 Website Access:
The following section outlines the rules and regulations for the use of Bristol Clamshell 's Website, located at https://bristolclamshellthoracotomy.co.uk. By accessing this website, we assume you accept the following terms. Do not continue to use Bristol Clamshell if you do not agree to take all of the terms and conditions stated in section 11.
11.2 Cookies:
The website uses cookies to help personalize your online experience. By accessing Bristol Clamshell, you agreed to use the required cookies.
A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
We may use cookies to collect, store, and track information for statistical or marketing purposes to operate our website. You have the ability to accept or decline optional Cookies. There are some required Cookies that are necessary for the operation of our website. These cookies do not require your consent as they always work. Please keep in mind that by accepting required Cookies, you also accept third-party Cookies, which might be used via third-party provided services if you use such services on our website, for example, a video display window provided by third parties and integrated into our website.
11.3 License:
Unless otherwise stated, Bristol Clamshell and/or its licensors own the intellectual property rights for all material on Bristol Clamshell. All intellectual property rights are reserved. You may access this from Bristol Clamshell for your own personal use subjected to restrictions set in these terms and conditions.
You must not:
Copy or republish material from Bristol Clamshell
Sell, rent, or sub-license material from Bristol Clamshell
Reproduce, duplicate or copy material from Bristol Clamshell
Redistribute content from Bristol Clamshell
This Agreement shall begin on the date hereof.
11.4 Hyperlinking to our Content:
The following organisations may link to our Website without prior written approval:
Government agencies;
Search engines;
These organisations may link to our home page, to publications, or to other Website information so long as the link: (a) is not in any way deceptive; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement, or approval of the linking party and its products and/or services; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party's site.
We may consider and approve other link requests from the following types of organisations:
Associations or other groups representing charities;
Internet portals;
Educational institutions and trade associations.
We will approve link requests from these organisations if we decide that: (a) the link would not make us look unfavorably to ourselves or to our accredited businesses; (b) the organisation does not have any negative records with us; (c) the benefit to us from the visibility of the hyperlink compensates the absence of Bristol Clamshell ; and (d) the link is in the context of general resource information.
These organisations may link to our home page so long as the link: (a) is not in any way deceptive; (b) does not falsely imply sponsorship, endorsement, or approval of the linking party and its products or services; and (c) fits within the context of the linking party's site.
If you are one of the organisations listed in paragraph 2 above and are interested in linking to our website, you must inform us by sending an e-mail to Bristol Clamshell [clamshell.bristol@gmail.com] . Please include your name, your organisation name, contact information as well as the URL of your site, a list of any URLs from which you intend to link to our Website, and a list of the URLs on our site to which you would like to link. Please expect a response in 3-5 working days.
Approved organisations may hyperlink to our Website as follows:
By use of our corporate name; or
By use of the uniform resource locator being linked to; or
Using any other description of our Website being linked to that makes sense within the context and format of content on the linking party's site.
Use of Bristol Clamshell’s logo or other artwork for linking is not permitted without a valid trademark license agreement.
11.5: Content Liability
We shall not be held responsible for any content that appears on your Website. You agree to protect and defend us against all claims that are raised on your Website. No link(s) should appear on any Website that may be interpreted as libelous, obscene, or criminal, or which infringes, otherwise violates, or advocates the infringement or other violation of, any third party rights.
11.6: Reservation of Rights:
We reserve the right to request that you remove all links or any particular link to our Website. You approve to immediately remove all links to our Website upon request. We also reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions and its linking policy at any time. By continuously linking to our Website, you agree to be bound to and follow these linking terms and conditions.
11.7 Removal of links from our website:
If you find any link on our Website that is offensive for any reason, you are free to contact and inform us at any moment. We will consider requests to remove links, but we are not obligated to or so or to respond to you directly.
We do not ensure that the information on this website is correct. We do not warrant its completeness or accuracy, nor do we promise to ensure that the website remains available or that the material on the website is kept up to date.
11.8 Disclaimer:
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude all representations, warranties, and conditions relating to our website and the use of this website. Nothing in this disclaimer will:
Limit or exclude our or your liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
Limit any of our or your liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
Exclude any of our or your liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
The limitations and prohibitions of liability set in this Section and elsewhere in this disclaimer: (a) are subject to the preceding paragraph; and (b) govern all liabilities arising under the disclaimer, including liabilities arising in contract, in tort, and for breach of statutory duty.
As long as the website and the information and services on the website are provided free of charge, we will not be liable for any loss or damage of any nature.
12. Modifications to Terms
12.1 The course provider reserves the right to update these Terms and Conditions. Participants will be notified of any changes via email, and the updated terms will take effect from the date specified in the notification.
13. Contact Information
13.1 Please contact our course administrator for any queries regarding our terms and conditions on clamshell.bristol@gmail.com.
