The department manages approximately 700 trauma cases annually, making it the busiest trauma receiving hospital in Scotland. Major trauma (ISS>15) accounts for around 120 of these cases. There is a helipad on site and increasing numbers of patients attend by air ambulance. It also acts as the base for our EM flying squad “Medic One”, which attends patients in pre-hospital situations of any aetiology approximately 150 times a year, including victims of trauma, and we have excellent links and working relationships with the Scottish Ambulance Service. Emergency Physicians ‘team lead’ all trauma resuscitation cases with excellent support from radiologists, surgeons, anaesthetists and intensivists. With the exception of plastics, burns and maxillo-facial surgery all specialties will be on site from 2017.

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has been chosen as one of Scotland’s four major trauma centres and the major trauma workload will increase by more than thirty percent. This is an exciting time for trauma in Edinburgh and we believe our department offers the opportunity to improve the practical, clinical and non technical skills required to manage these challenging patients.

We also routinely perform all our own procedural sedations (around 700 to 800 a year), Rapid Sequence Inductions (around 350 a year with anaesthetic support), Bier’s Block anaesthetics and manipulations, and the team have developed a robust quality assurance infrastructure and culture of positive change and behaviours.

We also benefit from a fully developed 24 hour Emergency Nurse Practitioner service, as well as 7 day Occupational Therapy assessment with support from the the Elderly Care Assessment Team, Physiotherapy practitioners, Clinical Decision-Making ED Nurses, Cardiology and Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialists, and enhanced role Radiographers.

The unit has a fabulous team ethos – all junior doctors work in a team for their whole attachment, with registrars supervising and mentoring more junior doctors in training, for all their shifts. There is a clear consultant supervisor structure with over 20 Consultants now forming part of our on call rota with consultant presence on the shop floor from 7:45am to 2am, 7 days a week.