Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Hull Royal Infirmary is part of a major trauma network specialising in treating patients who suffer from major trauma across East and North Yorkshire and the Humber region.

Major Trauma Centre (MTC)

The centre provides life-saving treatment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for trauma patients, including those with serious life-threatening injuries. The MTC has been selected as a site for the Operative Rib Fixation (ORiF) Study. This is a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial, assessing the role of operative rib fixation in patients with multiple rib fractures. Any clinicians or patients who have questions relating to this can contact the local principal investigator via email or via the major trauma team: michael.gooseman@nhs.net

Major Trauma Service

The service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is supported by consultant-led multi-specialist teams, including Emergency Department Consultants, Orthopaedic Consultants, Plastic Surgeons, Intensivists, Neurosurgeons and General Surgeons, to name a few.

Previously, patients who suffered major trauma were simply taken to the nearest hospital, regardless of whether it had the skills, facilities or equipment to deal with such serious injuries. This often meant patients could end up being transferred, causing delays in people receiving the right treatment.

The new network means ambulances will take seriously injured patients directly to HRI where they will be assessed immediately and treated by a full specialist trauma team. Patients who have suffered a severe injury often need complex reconstructive surgery.

Ambulance staff assess patients to ensure those with the most severe injuries, classed as major trauma, are taken to a major trauma centre for urgent treatment. This may involve bypassing their local hospital so they can immediately receive specialist care with access to CT scans and innovative technology.

Other patients will be taken to their local trauma unit for stabilisation before rapid transfer to the Major Trauma Centre for definitive treatment. It involves the ambulance service and helicopter emergency medical service working with the major trauma network to ensure the most urgent patients are sent to the most appropriate place.