HALIFAX: The Nova Scotia Health Trauma Program launched its new QEII Inpatient Trauma Consult Service on October 17 to facilitate dedicated, daily care for all major trauma patients in the province after admission to the QEII.
The trauma consult service is an extension of Trauma Nova Scotia and is led by a dedicated trauma care nurse and physician. A physician is on-call daily from 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. for support, and this position will rotate weekly among a group of trauma team leaders from surgery, anesthesia, critical care, and emergency medicine.
The trauma consult nurses are Registered Nurses with extensive trauma experience and backgrounds in intensive care and emergency medicine. Their role includes helping develop care plans for patients while providing support, education, and guidance to care teams for patients with multiple injuries.
Dr. Robert Green, Senior Medical Director of Trauma Nova Scotia, said major trauma patients often have injuries to multiple organs and require highly specialized and coordinated care after they’re admitted to hospital.
“We’ve partnered with stakeholders at Nova Scotia Health to develop a new trauma consult service that is dedicated to ensuring our trauma patients receive the best care possible to treat their injuries and support their recovery,” said Dr. Green. “This service is a novel approach to addressing the specific needs of the growing number of trauma patients that we see in Nova Scotia each year.
“We’re excited to bring the expertise of our team and support teams caring for trauma patients at the QEII, and the entire province.”
Dr. Green is an appointed staff physician in emergency medicine and critical care at the QEII and he is also a trauma team leader. He is working as one of the trauma consult physicians in the trauma consult service.
In Nova Scotia, the QEII is the primary trauma centre for adult patients and is where all major trauma patients are transferred for life-saving treatment and support.
The trauma care service will improve efficiencies through coordinated efforts; improve the patient, family, and health care worker experience; and provide the best care possible for major trauma patients. Providing this comprehensive trauma care will result in sustained improvements in patient outcomes.
The launch of the trauma care service coincides with World Trauma Day, an internationally recognized day of observation for saving and protecting lives during emergencies.
For more information about the trauma consult service and Nova Scotia Health Trauma Program visit: https://www.trauma-ns.com
