Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2018 | Page 22

FEATURE TRAUMA
©GettyImages/code6d
©GettyImages/nata_zhekova
Saving lives,
giving life back
Claire Tester, Alison Gilhooly and
Wendy Greenstreet look at the setting
up of four major trauma centres in
Scotland, with the aim of improving
outcomes for survivors of severe injury
©GettyImages/sturti
T
he Scottish Trauma Network was established
in 2017, with the aim of saving 40 more lives
each year in Scotland, with improved care
and outcomes for the 1,000 potential major
trauma patients and 4,000 severely injured patients seen
each year (Scottish Trauma Network 2018). The benefits
are expected to be far reaching.
The network is made up of teams working in trauma
care across Scotland from pre-hospital to rehabilitation,
with four dedicated major trauma centres being
established across the country, to be located in Dundee
(East), Aberdeen (North), Edinburgh (South East) and
Glasgow (West).
The centres will host dedicated multidisciplinary
trauma services, including rehabilitation support, to help
patients with life changing or life threatening injuries to
recover more quickly.
Wendy Greenstreet, lead occupational therapist in
acute services in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, has been
involved in planning the development of the trauma
service with rehabilitation colleagues across the north
of Scotland, to identify the additional requirements for
rehabilitation services both in the major trauma centre
and across the north of Scotland network.
Claire Tester has been seconded as the AHP
improvement adviser for major trauma for the East major
trauma network, and has been liaising with allied health
22 OTnews October 2018
professionals working with trauma patients to identify the
current pathway and identify the best practice pathway
for major trauma patients.
Major trauma refers to life threatening and life-
changing injuries that result in a complex range of
impairments and disabilities, including a combination of
physical, cognitive, emotional, social and behavioural
problems.
Trauma is not only a leading cause of death for
people aged under 40 in Scotland, but also a large
socio-economic burden. Approximately 5,000 people
are seriously injured each year, and over 1,000 cases
are being defined as ‘major trauma’ (Scottish Trauma
Network 2018).
Although major trauma accounts for only a small
percentage of the 550,000 emergency admissions to
hospitals across Scotland each year, these severely
injured patients require highly specialised care, extended
hospital stays and extensive rehabilitation (Scottish
Trauma Network 2018).
The British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine
recognises that specialist rehabilitation is a critical
component of the trauma care pathway (BSRM 2013).
Improvement in trauma rehabilitation as an integral
component of the trauma network will benefit patients,
returning them to independent living and employment
far sooner and more effectively, helping reduce the