Major Trauma

What we do

The ambulance service decides whether a child has a major trauma or not. Causes of major trauma include road traffic incidents, falls or burns. The ambulance service alert the Emergency Department (ED) about that child and give a handover about the suspected injuries.

Once the child has arrived in ED they are met by our designated Trauma Team and stabilised. The team is made up of ED Doctors, ED Nurses, Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Operating Department Practitioners and Paediatric Intensive Care staff. Any tests that are needed are carried out, including X-rays, CT scans and blood tests.

The type of injury(s) sustained will determine which speciality looks after the child. This can be Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Burns (Level 2), Maxillofacial, Plastics, Ophthalmology, Ear Nose and Throat, or General Surgery.

The child will move from the Emergency Department to either theatre for surgery or to one of the wards for definitive / on-going care.

Rehabilitation

Once admitted to the ward the child will receive rehabilitation from the different therapy teams available if required. This can include Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychology and Speech & Language Therapy. Rehabilitation aims to:

• Reduce any difficulties the child may have after their injury
• Help children increase movement and strength
• Support the child to return to their usual activities so they can carry on their childhood following a trauma injury

The child and family will be visited by our Major Trauma Nurse and Rehabilitation Co-ordinators. Their job is to assist in making sure that the child’s stay in hospital runs as smoothly as possible and act as a point of contact for the child and the family.

The Major Trauma Nurse and Rehabilitation Co-ordinators are also available to support the staff with any queries they may have and to provide education and training for Major Trauma patient care.

About Us

Sheffield Children’s became a Children’s Major Trauma Centre (MTC) in April 2012 and is of only four dedicated paediatric Major Trauma Centres in England. It is the only MTC in South Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire that receives children less than 16 years of age. We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.

There are 6 Trauma Units (TU) within South Yorkshire which also treat children. All major trauma patients within a 60 minute ambulance drive will come directly to our hospital. Others may go to their nearest TU initially and then be transferred after emergency procedures are carried out.

Our TU’s are Chesterfield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, and Scunthorpe.

We see approximately 57,000 patients in our Emergency Department every year. Of these roughly half attend because of an injury and we see around 120 major trauma patients per year.