Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to be part of new trauma network
Shrewsbury’s Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is to play a key role in a new Major Trauma Network for the West Midlands when it launches next week.
The new life-saving arrangements will see hospitals across the region work together to provide the best care for people with the most complex and serious injuries. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will be part of the new network as a Trauma Unit, working closely with the Major Trauma Centres in Stoke and Birmingham.
Mark Prescott, Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Trust, said: “Establishing a trauma unit in Shrewsbury will allow us to make sure seriously injured patients can get the right life-saving care as quickly as possible. It is all about providing the best possible emergency service. Seriously injured patients will be brought to us and received by a consultant-led team for resuscitation, and then either treated here or transferred onto a major trauma centre as their condition dictates. We serve a population spread over large geographical area, many of whom live some distance away from the major trauma centres and there is a clear need for an outpost trauma unit here.”
Adam Cairns, Trust Chief Executive, said: “This new network is set to save lives for people with the most complex and serious injuries. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is set to take on a vital role as a Trauma Unit, working closely with Major Trauma Centres in Birmingham and Stroke to provide the best possible care for patients in an emergency.
“Being a Trauma Unit will help us to keep the full range of emergency services we provide at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. This has only been possible because of the decisions we made following the Keeping It In The County consultation last year to make RSH the main centre for inpatient acute surgery in the county.”
