Article Text

Download PDFPDF
The accident and emergency department as a single portal of entry for the reassessment of all trauma patients transferred to specialist units.
  1. P M O'Connor,
  2. J A Steele,
  3. C H Dearden,
  4. L G Rocke,
  5. R B Fisher
  1. Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

    Abstract

    127 patients who were transferred to a regional referral centre for specialist treatment within 48 h of serious injury were reassessed on arrival in the receiving accident and emergency department by a trauma team. 80 transferred patients (63%) required intervention in the accident and emergency department to complete assessment or resuscitation. In view of the well recognised difficulties in managing patients with multiple trauma and the possibility that initially occult injuries may become clinically significant during transport, transferred trauma patients should be reassessed in the accident and emergency department of the receiving hospital by a trauma team consisting of senior medical staff experienced in all aspects of trauma care.

    Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Linked Articles

    • Letter
      A J Gray S Goodacre G Johnson A McGowan