§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has of the effect of the replacement of accident and emergency centres with trauma centres and minor injuries units on the level of deaths. [26309]
§ Mr. SackvilleWe set up a pilot trauma centre at the North Staffordshire Hospitals NHS trust in 1990. This followed a report from the Royal College of Surgeons on the management of patients with major injuries that found that one in every five deaths from major trauma was potentially preventable. The pilot has been evaluated by the medical care research unit at the university of Sheffield and we expect to receive its findings in the summer.
There is, however, a considerable body of scientific evidence showing that patients with major injuries receive more effective care in large, appropriately staffed, accident and emergency centres, backed up by the main hospital specialties. A review of the literature on the relationship between the size of accident and emergency departments and clinical outcomes prepared by my Department is available in the Library.
Studies of minor injury units have shown them to be effective in treating patients with minor conditions. The studies also found that nearly all patients use minor injury units appropriately.