Organizing an efficient trauma team

Trauma Care in Africa: A Status Report From Botswana, Guided by the World Health Organization’s “Guidelines for Essential Trauma Care”

“…A major benefit from trauma team organization is a reduction in time to definitive surgery [30]. Efforts have been made to introduce the concept to African countries.…”

Trauma Care in Oman: Where do we stand and where should we be heading?

“…The leader of the trauma team is often a qualified surgeon or emergency physician who coordinates the resuscitation efforts and ensures adherence to ATLS guidelines. 22 A recent local study compared the resuscitation of multi-trauma patients led by either trauma surgeons or well-trained general surgeons and indicated that there was no difference in outcome; the authors suggested that although the expansion of the available pool of trauma surgeons in Oman may be important, the extent to which this is needed is questionable and that perhaps more attention should be placed on building a cohesive and holistic trauma system. 23 This point should be kept in mind by decision-makers, particularly as trauma surgery training is both lengthy and costly.…”

The Gulf war: anaesthetic experience at 32 Field Hospital Department of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation

“…All staff were therefore trained in the concept of British Army Trauma Life Support (BATLS) which is the military modification to the Advanced Trauma Life Support system [3]. This system of horizontal management minimises the times required for stabilisation before surgery, and identifies those patients who require immediate surgery as a part of the resuscitation process [4]. The team, consisting of a medical officer, a nursing officer and a combat medical technician, were given the same training and were able to exchange roles as the need arose.…”