Major Trauma

Major Trauma is a serious injury or a group of injuries. Scotland has a network of Major Trauma Centres for children and young people. The Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital is the Major Trauma Centre for the North of Scotland. Our hospital has all of the necessary speciality teams who can provide the best care for the most severely injured children. This means that they can be given the right care, in the right place, at the right time. This can save lives, prevent complications, speed up recovery and help children return to an active life. We see patients from across the North of Scotland, including patients that have had an injury whilst visiting the area.

The team includes lots of different health professionals who will help to treat the child’s injuries and provide support.

The Multidisciplinary Team

A multi-disciplinary team means a group of specialists all working together to care for a child or young person. This might include:

Doctors
Nurses
Therapists such as Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists
Psychologists
Play Specialists
Trauma Coordinators
Family support and charity partners to help the whole family
Community healthcare teams, to help after going home

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is the word used for the process of helping children and young people recover physically and emotionally following an accident or injury. Your child’s rehabilitation needs will be identified and agreed by the multidisciplinary team. This includes a range of treatments and interventions which will allow your child to get back to everyday life following their injury and adapt to potential changes to their physical and mental health. Rehabilitation will start early on in the hospital journey, after all injuries have been diagnosed and a plan has been made for treatment.

Trauma Coordinator

The trauma coordinator at RACH will meet with you and your child early on in their hospital stay, sometimes even in the Emergency Department. Our coordinator acts as a single point of support and contact whilst helping to plan and coordinate your child’s care through the hospital and on in to the community when they get home. They will also liaise with schools, nurseries and any other third parties who are regularly involved with your child. This can be helpful when there are a lot of different professionals involved in your child’s care. When your child is discharged from hospital, the trauma coordinator will keep in touch and ensure you and your child continue to receive all of the support you require.