North Yorkshire & Humberside Major Trauma Network - Information for patients & relatives

Information for patients & relatives

Working in Partnership with:

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust

York & Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

What is a Major Trauma Network?

Major Trauma Networks comprise of a collection of service providers and personnel, who serve a defined population and aim to reduce death and disability following injury. Each Network is served by one or more Major Trauma Centres, along with a number of smaller hospitals called Trauma Units, and several pre-hospital care providers. Since the introduction of these Networks in England, critically injured patients now have a 30% better chance of survival. Major Trauma Centres operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are staffed by consultant led specialist teams with access to the best diagnostic and treatment facilities, including orthopaedics, neurosurgery, cardiothoracics and radiology teams.

Our Network Services

Hull Major Trauma Centre was established in April 2012. The services of the Major Trauma Centre are delivered across the two main sites of the Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, namely Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital. The Hull Major Trauma Centre operates as the hub of the North Yorkshire & Humberside Major Trauma Operational Delivery Network, serving people in North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.

Trauma admissions are primarily taken directly from the scene of a trauma via the ground and air ambulance services. The provision of a ground helipad situated on site at Hull Royal Infirmary enables access to the Emergency Department at the Hull Major Trauma Centre. In addition, the Hull Major Trauma Centre takes secondary transfers from the four Network Trauma Units:

York Hospital
Scarborough Hospital
Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby
Scunthorpe Hospital

Our Network geographical area is supported by the services of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and East Midlands Ambulance Service with access to the respective air ambulance services.

Patients with severe multiple injuries have a better chance of survival and recovery under a regional Major Trauma system, where all acute hospitals and the ambulance services (pre-hospital providers) work closely together to provide an integrated response, following agreed and defined guidance and policies, which is regularly reviewed by the Network Board and feedback and lessons learned are disseminated to the Trauma personnel within the Network.

What is Major Trauma?

Patients with Major Trauma are those with serious multiple injuries that require 24/7 emergency access to a wide range of clinical services and specialist expertise. For example, Doctors may be required to attend to a patient with head and neck injuries, chest, pelvis and other bone fractures. Major Trauma can happen as a result of many mechanisms such as:

Road Traffic Collisions
Industrial Accidents
Falls
Leisure Activities

People who suffer serious injury (which is known as major trauma) need the highest quality specialist care to give them the best chances of survival and recovery. Access to the right service at the right time first time is therefore crucial for the survival of a Major Trauma patient.

Ambulance crews (pre-hospital care providers) will use an agreed protocol (Major Trauma Triage Tool) to take injured people to the hospital most suited to their needs based on the review of their injuries sustained. Patients with a severe injury will be assessed by ambulance staff at the scene of the incident. They will then be taken by ambulance direct to the nearest major trauma centre if it is safe to do so and the patient does not need stabilising. If a patient needs to be stabilised first, he or she will be taken to the nearest trauma unit. For less severe injuries, patients will be taken to the nearest trauma unit.

Patients with less severe injuries, urgent or emergency care needs are treated by their local A&E, Minor Injuries Unit or GP, as appropriate.

Rehabilitation

The aim of the Rehabilitation services is to get patients back to full active lives wherever possible and rehabilitation needs of a patient needs to be addressed from the day of admission. The Major Trauma Network is working closely with its stakeholder partners and commissioning bodies to address what is a national issue for delivery or complex rehabilitation services in order to build on existing resources available.

All the work that representatives from our Network and the stakeholder organisations have carried out has helped to develop a dedicated Trauma Service and we will continue to progress the development of the Network in order that it meets the needs and expectations of patients, their families and carers, its stakeholders and associated providers.