Provision of trauma teams in Scotland: a national survey

Hornsby, J., Quasim, T. , Dignon, N. and Puxty, A. (2010) Provision of trauma teams in Scotland: a national survey. Emergency Medicine Journal, 27(3), pp. 191-193. (doi: 10.1136/emj.2008.067306)

Abstract

<b>Background and Aims:</b> Trauma is still the leading cause of mortality in the first four decades of life. Despite multiple reports on how trauma care could be improved in the UK, treatment has been shown to be inconsistent and of poor quality. Trauma teams have been shown to have a positive effect on outcome. We aimed to determine the prevalence of trauma teams in Scotland. <b>Methods:</b> We performed a telephone survey of 24 hospitals with Emergency Departments and spoke to the senior clinician regarding provision of trauma teams. <b>Results:</b> 5 (21%) of the hospitals questioned had trauma teams. The most common reasons for not having one were: no problem with current system 8 (44%) and inability to include senior enough staff on the team 6 (24%). <b>Conclusions:</b> There are few trauma teams in Scottish acute hospitals. There was little enthusiasm for introducing them for a variety of reasons. Local evidence of benefit is likely needed before their adoption becomes widespread.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Quasim, Professor Tara and Dignon, Dr Neil
• Authors: Hornsby, J., Quasim, T., Dignon, N., and Puxty, A.
• Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Clinical Specialities
• Journal Name: Emergency Medicine Journal
• Journal Abbr.: EMJ
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 1472-0205
• ISSN (Online): 1472-0213
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2010 BMJ Publishing Group
• First Published: First published in Emergency Medical Journal 27(3):191-193
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher