Reforming emergency care: implications for the trauma patient

Abstract

Published in October 2001, Reforming Emergency Care (REC) recognized the need to reorganize unscheduled care. It identified the need for radical restructuring and reform of emergency care by the use of an integrated system with common triage, prioritization and streaming. REC forms part of the modernization process for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. It will result in major change in primary care, accident and emergency care, and ambulance services. Local care systems combining emergency, elective, primary care and GP out of hours are a possible solution. The opportunity to improve trauma care by developing a network of 24-hour emergency hospitals for the critically ill and injured will improve the delivery of definitive care in minimum time, by passing the ‘baton of care’ the minimum number of times. Reforming emergency care represents a unique window of opportunity to improve the care of the critically ill and injured.