Leeds Major Trauma Centre (MTC) opened on 2 April 2013. This was supported by a multi-million pound investment to expand and improve major trauma services that were already renowned but needed to expand to cope with an expected doubling of major trauma patients from around West Yorkshire. Around 79% of people living in Yorkshire and Humberside can access the Leeds MTC within 45 minutes by road and the catchment area when traveling by air ambulance significantly increases.
Any person who has suffered major trauma within West Yorkshire for adults and Yorkshire and Humberside for children are taken to the right hospital at the right time to receive the specialist treatment that they need in order to survive, recover and return to normal life free from or with minimal disability.
How we support patients
Major trauma patients will be assessed immediately and taken directly to the level 1 Major Trauma Centre. This means quicker diagnosis and specialist treatment for patients, resulting in better outcomes longer term. As soon as it is clinically appropriate to do so, patients will be transferred back to their local hospital for follow-up care and to begin their rehabilitation.
Our rooftop helicopter pad can receive direct transfer of multiple injured patients into a six-bay resuscitation room. This has the capacity to expand by a further four cubicles, taking the total to 10 bays available during a major incident. The room covers all specialties and offers quick access to specialist cross sectional imaging including a hybrid endovascular suite which is co-located with the Emergency Department.
The major trauma team has worked hard to bring a logical alignment to patient services within well-equipped, modern facilities, offering multi-specialty hospital services, on a single site, optimised for the provision of trauma care. These services include the Emergency Department, Major Trauma ward, Intensive Therapy Unit, Theatres and Anaesthetics, Radiology, Vascular, Orthopaedic, Plastic, Spinal, Maxillofacial, Cardiothoracic and Neurological surgery.
We are the first major multi-site hospital in the UK to have adopted this under-one-roof approach to patient care, providing consultant-level care working in partnership with organisations such as the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Airedale, Bradford, Mid Yorkshire, Harrogate and half of York. By working together as a whole system, with clear access and return agreements we are able to manage major trauma in a far more effective way for both adults in West Yorkshire and children across all of Yorkshire and Humberside.
In conjunction with optimising the definitive care of multiple injured patients we have also developed an active, effective trauma Quality Improvement programme and support the improvement programmes of the other hospitals within the West Yorkshire Major Trauma Network.