'Trauma Tsar' visits trust
Tuesday, 01 September, 2009
Professor Willett on the right and Dr Cooke on the left at the Emergency Operations Centre, Brierley Hill.
The man tasked with improving trauma care for patients throughout the country has been visiting West Midlands Ambulance Service to brief clinical staff about his proposals.
Professor Keith Willett is a noted trauma surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and was appointed to the role of National Clinical Director for Trauma Care on 1st April 2009.
The visit was part of his round of introductions to Medical Directors of Trusts throughout England and Wales. WMAS Medical Director, Roger Cooke said: "Professor Willett has a very
clear vision for the management of serious trauma in the future.
He gave two presentations on fragility fractures and the management of major trauma. Hip fractures cost the NHS and social care around £2 billion a year. Professor Willett is proposing new ways of caring for these patients with faster treatment and also ways of preventing the falls that cause the fractures in the first place.
Although serious trauma patients are relatively few in number they often need very specialist care. Injuries can include head, facial and spinal as well as open and complex fractures. They very often need urgent but not emergency surgery. The proposals are to deliver the patient rapidly and safely to a hospital that can manage the definitive care of their injuries irrespective of where they suffer those injuries.
Dr Cooke continued: "The suggestions that he is proposing could have a significant impact on the survival rates of patients in both areas. The ambulance service can play a hugely important role in both areas of work because of the way that our staff are very often the first clinicians to see the patient.
"Certainly our staff that saw the presentations and spoke to Professor Willett were hugely impressed by his work to date and the enthusiasm that he has for improving patient care."
Professor Willett added: "I was delighted to find such a progressive attitude by West Midlands Ambulance Service towards developing better care for major trauma.
"This was even more impressive given the changes the service has made in the last few years. "Moving seriously injured patients rapidly and safely to the hospital that can deliver the definitive care is key to achieving the best outcomes for patients
