INTRODUCTION: Recognition and management of deteriorating patients is often suboptimal, resulting in adverse events that may be avoided if a unified understanding of the signs and needs of deteriorating patients is secured through the education of staff. This paper describes the planning and evaluation of a multi-professional, full-scale simulation-based course for hospital professionals. METHODS: A systematic approach to course development was used and the programme was introduced on four general wards in a university hospital. Experts from the wards were trained as educators and participated in the course development. A needs assessment consisting of an observational study, questionnaires and interviews resulted in the creation of learning objectives to provide the road map for content and teaching methods. A 1-day multi-professional ward-specific educational programme with full-scale simulations, mini-lectures, case discussions and practical training was planned. Course material, a manual for educators and questionnaires for evaluation of the course were developed. RESULTS: A 1-day full-scale simulation-based educational programme was developed and 50% of the medical staff and 70% of the nursing staff on four wards were trained in a 5-month period. The course was highly rated in terms of content and teaching methods. DISCUSSION: The systematic approach for developing the course resulted in a relevant, highly rated course, deeply rooted in the wards, implying the opportunity to facilitate local improvements and adjust the content to local needs. CONCLUSION: The use of a systematic approach was successful in the development of this multi-professional full-scale simulation-based educational programme, which has proven to be easily applicable and usable.