Tool cuts epidural fail rate by over 50% at Cork hospital

The failure rate of epidurals given to women in labour at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) was reduced by more than 50% through use of a new training tool developed at University College Cork.

George Shorten, professor of anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at UCC, said it was the first time the training tool — known as proficiency-based progression — had been shown to improve patient outcomes.