Major Trauma Surgery

With serious injury accounting for the greatest number of UK deaths in children and adults under the age of 40, major trauma services will always be of paramount importance to the RCS.

Regional trauma network

Major trauma services in England have seen a significant improvement in patient outcomes since the implementation of regional trauma networks in 2012. The College was integral to the implementation of this system and worked with other key stakeholders in creating the blueprint for the regional networks in its 2009 publication Regional trauma systems: interim guidance for commissioners.

Major Trauma Workforce Sustainability Project

The improvements in care brought about by the regional networks are commendable. However, the sustainability of the system and ongoing advancement of patient care were identified as a threat to the future of the service in a briefing note produced by the College in early 2014 (Trauma Systems in England). In response to the challenges facing the system's future outlined in this paper, the College Council initiated the Major Trauma Workforce Project in September 2014.

This project brought together experts in major trauma care from across the service working with other royal colleges, surgical specialty associations, the NHS, the military, trainee surgeons and consultant doctors and surgeons to provide a framework for delivering a sustainable and highly skilled workforce to care for seriously injured patents.

In November 2015, the outcomes of this project will be published in a document detailing the College’s vision for suitable training programmes and appealing career pathways to ensure the required skills to deliver the highest standard of care to this highly-at-risk patient group are available for the future of the service.

Please direct any queries to trauma-systems@rcseng.ac.uk.