Competence and time decide the fate of seriously injured people
25.07.2012 10:27
The German Society for Trauma Surgery (DGU) publishes the second edition of the white paper on care for seriously injured people. The recommendations of the White Paper on the care of seriously injured people, which was first published in 2006, have been updated. In addition to the measures to improve the chances of survival, the white paper now also includes guidelines for optimizing the long-term and better quality of life for people after an accident. Since the introduction of the white paper and the nationwide implementation of these recommendations in the TraumaNetworkDGU project, there has been a significant improvement in the clinical infrastructure and process quality in the care of seriously injured patients in Germany, says Professor Hartmut Siebert, Secretary General of the DGU.
The White Paper on the Care of the Seriously Injured describes standards to promote quality, safety and satisfaction in care for the seriously injured in Germany. The new focus of the second edition of the white paper is ensuring that holistic rehabilitation therapy begins at an early stage. The aim of the measures recommended in the White Paper is not only to improve the chances of survival, but also to improve the still significant deficits in the functional and psychological recovery of the accident victims. “As trauma surgeons, we take responsibility for the entire treatment process – from the scene of the accident to the patient’s reintegration into work, family and leisure time. “This is only possible with a pain-free and satisfied patient, so in the future we will also regularly integrate suitable rehabilitation centers into the networked care structures of the trauma networks,” says trauma surgeon Siebert. Another innovation is the mandatory cooperation of every trauma network with a trauma center with special pediatric traumatology expertise in order to treat the 1,500 seriously injured children every year with a high level of competence and quality.
After bottlenecks and differences in quality in care for seriously injured people became known in 2006, the DGU launched the White Paper on Care for Seriously Injured People and the TraumaNetwork DGU project, a quality initiative that is unique in the world and has been joined by almost all clinics involved in care for seriously injured people, with over 800 clinics. Within just six years, the quality of care in Germany could be raised to a comparable or higher level by upgrading the clinics' equipment such as X-ray and CT machines as well as setting up a specially equipped shock room or a helipad in the immediate vicinity by 35 Percent improved.* Above all, they improved the care processes by 55 percent so that the seriously injured person, or, as in the case of a pile-up, several seriously injured people, can be taken to a suitable clinic within 30 minutes and with the shortest possible rescue time and receive immediate further treatment. In particular, the availability of all specialist disciplines such as: B. Intensive care medicine, neuro-, visceral and vascular surgery to care for complex and irregular injury patterns around the clock, 365 days a year.
Every year, over 35,000 people in Germany suffer serious, often life-threatening injuries. The chance of survival decreases with every quarter hour. The result of treatment depends largely on the type and severity of the injury, the timely preclinical and clinical initial care in a competent trauma clinic together with trained emergency services, and the availability of all medical disciplines necessary for the care of seriously injured people. In order to offer every seriously injured person, anywhere in Germany, the same chances of survival at any time, the DGU has launched the TraumaNetwork DGU project. There are currently 53 trauma networks with 864 participating clinics in Germany, of which 31 trauma networks with 413 participating clinics have already been certified in accordance with the requirements of the white paper.
* Data collected during the implementation of the project.