Delivering best practice trauma care for injured Tasmanians

The Tasmanian Liberal Government is expanding services at the State’s major trauma centre as part of our commitment to providing best practice trauma care to the Tasmanian community.

The expanded trauma service at the Royal Hobart Hospital will deliver benefits right across Tasmania with the initiative introducing a statewide trauma bed-card which will allow

consistent management of trauma cases, regardless of where the trauma case occurs.

For the first time, all major trauma patients will be admitted under a single multidisciplinary team of specialist trauma doctors and nurses as part of a $2.5 million funding investment.

In the first phase, we will establish a safe, efficient, and sustainable seven-day ward and trauma call service by recruiting two additional Trauma Staff Specialists, three new Trauma Registrar positions and three new Trauma Resident Medical Officer roles.

The second phase includes further recruitment of a Nurse Manager – Trauma, Trauma Clinical Data Coordinator, Clinical Research Coordinator and Trauma Fellow.

The expanded trauma service is expected to begin admitting patients from January 2023 and the implementation will be supported by an expert working group of medical, nursing and allied health specialists.

By enabling a dedicated team to provide initial care for all complex trauma patients, we can streamline transfers of injured patients from the Launceston General Hospital and North West Regional Hospital and minimise the time southern trauma patients spend in the RHH Emergency Department.

Under the new model, a medical team of trauma consultants and junior doctors will lead the trauma patient’s care plan, from initial injury through to rehabilitation. Specialist trauma case management nurses will ensure that every patient receives optimal care and that the social and mental wellbeing of patients and their families is supported.

We know that the recovery process for people with complex injuries does not end when they are discharged from hospital. Through this additional funding, the trauma service will be able to offer follow-up clinics and engage directly with patients’ general practitioners to ensure patients achieve the best possible recovery after injury.

Importantly, this expanded trauma service will also have the capacity to support community-based injury prevention programs and to engage in research that helps to identify and remove barriers to optimal trauma care throughout Tasmania.

The establishment of this service is a major step forward in the development of a world-class statewide trauma system and demonstrates our Government’s ongoing commitment to providing the right care, in the right place at the right time.