Major trauma

The term major trauma is used to describe multiple serious injuries that could result in significant physical harm or death. These might include serious head, chest, abdominal and skeletal injuries sustained as a result of accidents, sport or violence.

Major trauma is the main cause of death for people under the age of 45 and is a major cause of debilitating long term injuries. More than half of major trauma is caused by road traffic accidents and it is twice as common in urban areas as in rural areas.

As part of a national plan to improve major trauma care|, it is proposed that there is a major trauma system in south central England which would provide high-quality specialist trauma care and rehabilitation across the region. The proposed system would consist of two major trauma centres and a number of trauma units.

Changes for patients

Under the new proposals there will be a much better chance of surviving and recovering from a major trauma injury. Patients would have direct access to specialist teams and state-of-the-art equipment to ensure they receive immediate treatment, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In some cases, the changes will mean patients travelling longer in the ambulance to a major trauma centre than they would have done if they were being taken to their local emergency department. However, the journey is very unlikely to be longer than 45 minutes and it means patients would be treated in a specialist centre with all the facilities and expertise they may need. They would not need to be transferred from a local hospital or trauma unit which would incur delays to treatment and could have adverse effects on survival.

When it is not possible to get to the major trauma centre within 45 minutes, patients would be taken to the nearest hospital with a local trauma unit for immediate treatment and stabilisation before being transferred on to the major trauma centre.

Patients with less serious injuries, urgent or emergency care needs would continue to be treated by their local emergency department, minor injury unit or GP. 

Changes for Southampton

In the South Central region, only the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and Southampton General Hospital have the full range of surgical and supporting specialties required for hospitals to be major trauma centres.

These include the ability to be able to carry out brain surgery and cardiothoracic surgery – surgery on organs inside the chest, usually the heart and lungs. The proposed centres would be supported by, and linked to, a number of trauma units, which would be based at other major hospitals across the region.

|The proposal is that adults and children who suffer major trauma in Southampton, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight or Portsmouth are taken directly to a major trauma centre at Southampton General Hospital, rather than to the local emergency department. Patients would stay in Southampton General until they were stable. They would then be transferred to a dedicated local trauma unit closer to home or other appropriate, specialist rehabilitation location for ongoing care. This could be within Southampton General Hospital, at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight or Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.

The Help Charity has already donated £3 million to Southampton General Hospital to build a new helipad| on the site.