Trauma network ‘will save lives’

A TRAUMA supercentre is set to open at the Royal Oldham Hospital in a county-wide drive to save the lives of the most seriously injured people.

Major trauma centres will be set up at Manchester Royal Infirmary, the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital by October.

They will be supported by trauma units in Oldham and at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, and the Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.

These hospitals will be called upon should a seriously injured adult or child be unable to be transferred safely from the accident scene to the appropriate major trauma centre.

The hospitals are part of a new major trauma network for Greater Manchester which is expected to save 20 lives a year.

It means the most seriously injured people will get the best treatment from specialist trauma teams offering rapid assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.

The service is expected to be needed by around 450 people a year.

Dr Chris Brookes, clinical lead of the Greater Manchester major trauma network, said: “Major trauma is life threatening or life changing serious physical injury, which typically involves more than one injury.

“This might include traumatic injury requiring amputation of a limb, severe knife and gunshot wounds, major head injury, multiple injuries to different parts of the body, spinal injury and severe burns.

“In order to minimise long-lasting harm to patients it is important that they have rapid access to the very best skills that the NHS can offer.

“Before the network was established, patients would be taken to their nearest hospital, after which they may have been transferred to a more specialist site, causing delays.

“Now the NHS is working together to get these seriously injured patients to the best possible care quickly. This collaboration will quite simply save more lives and allow a better quality of life for survivors.”

Each hospital’s trauma team will have a specialist area — people with head injuries will go to Salford Royal, major burns will be treated at Wythenshawe, people with penetrating injuries will go to Manchester Royal Infirmary and children will go to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Initially the service will be available from 9am until 5pm on weekdays, extended to 8am until 8pm seven days a week later in the year, and eventually be provided round-the-clock, but no date has yet been given for that to take place.