NHS’ treatment of trauma patients ‘substandard’

Trauma patients in the UK do not receive adequate treatment from the NHS, it has been alleged.

The National Audit Office (NAO) conducted research which discovered that the death rate among those who have sustained trauma is 20 per cent higher than it is in the US, reported the BBC.

Trauma was found to be the biggest cause of death in under-40s, with 20,000 major incidents reported in the UK every year, including falls and road accidents.

Additionally, the organisation’s report stated that although opportunities for improvement exist, there have been few changes instigated within the system over the last 20 years.

“The Department of Health and the NHS must get a grip on coordinating services through trauma networks, on costs and on information on major trauma care, if they are to prevent unnecessary deaths,” Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, is quoted by the news provider as saying.

In related news, plans for regional trauma centres were examined in December by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

It claimed that the establishment of these hubs will significantly improve conditions for patients in need of specialist and local treatment.