Major Trauma

A traumatic injury is caused by various forces from outside of the body. It includes serious physical injuries like broken bones or internal organ damage. 

The most common ways these injuries occur are through falling, road traffic collisions, accidents at work, sporting injuries, burns, being assaulted, or impaled by a sharp object. 

Major trauma patients often have more than one injury and may also experience psychological difficulty alongside their physical trauma, due to the sudden shock of an unexpected injury. 

Each trauma journey is unique to you and depends on your injuries.

No matter your journey, we are here to support you.

Our services

Broomfield Hospital is a Trauma Unit and is part of the East of England Trauma Network.

Trauma networks were designed to improve your treatment outcomes, by providing you with the right care, in the right place, at the right time. This means everyone has access to the same services, regardless of where in the UK their injury originally happens.  

Due to this setup, you may need to transfer to specialist units in the Trauma Network, such as the Major Trauma Centre at Addenbrookes, or the spinal hub at Ipswich, to be able to access care from specialist teams. Equally, you may have arrived at Broomfield from another hospital in our network, as you may need specialist treatment from our burns, plastics, or hand trauma specialists.

No matter where you are in the hospital or in the network, your rehabilitation and recovery will begin as soon as possible. 

To help understand your journey, please visit https://www.eoetraumanetwork.nhs.uk/information. 

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Understanding your care: What will my hospital journey look like?

When you arrive at the hospital, the emergency department will start to investigate your injuries and provide care.

The full extent of injuries is not always apparent when you first arrive at hospital so you may need multiple tests and scans in the first few days.

You may need an operation for your injuries or receive care from multiple teams and specialists at the hospital during your rehabilitation journey.

The trauma and rehabilitation team can include:

  • Anaesthetic doctors
  • Burns Specialists
  • Dieticians
  • Medical doctors
  • Occupational therapists
  • Orthopaedic doctors
  • Physiotherapists
  • Plastics doctors
  • Specialist nurses, such as trauma coordinators, frailty, falls and pain clinical nurse specialists (CNS)
  • Speech and language therapists
  • Surgical doctors.

The most important person in the rehabilitation team is you.

We encourage you to let us know what's important to you, and to include your friends and family in your recovery. All of your rehabilitation, including your goals, will be planned around what you need now and are likely to need in the future. 

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Life after your injury

After your initial rehabilitation in hospital, you may be able to go home.

Some patients will need to continue their rehabilitation journey, either with teams in the community, or might need transfer to a specialist rehabilitation unit, to help you work on your goals and live more independently following your recovery.

All of this will be discussed with you before you leave the hospital, and if needed, you’ll get a rehabilitation prescription to outline your next steps.

It’s common to have lots of questions when adjusting to changes in your life as a result of a traumatic injury. You may have questions about what life may look like after your injury, how it might affect work or your relationships, and how you can get support. It might feel overwhelming, but there are lots of fantastic charities and communities here to support you.

Supporting charities and communities

After Trauma

A community for patients and families to support each other after experiencing a traumatic injury. 

Visit — https://www.aftertrauma.org. 

Aspire

Support for Spinal Cord Injury

Call 020 8954 5759 or visit https://www.aspire.org.uk.

Back Up

Inspiring people affected by spinal cord injury to get the most out of life. 

Call 020 8875 1805 or visit https://www.backuptrust.org.uk. 

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust 

Offers specialist assessment and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities resulting from brain injury.

Visit https://www.thedtgroup.org/brain-injury.

Brake

Help with bereavement following road traffic accidents. 

Call 0808 8000 401 or visit https://www.brake.org.uk 

British Red Cross

Offers care and equipment support after discharge from hospital. 

Call 0344 871 1111 or visit https://www.redcross.org.uk.

Citizens Advice

Offers a wide range of advice and support including Benefits, Work, Debt and money, Family, Housing, Law and courts, Immigration and Health. 

Call 0800 144 8848.

Changing Faces

Providing support for everyone with a visible difference. 

Visit https://www.changingfaces.org.uk.

Day One Trauma

Provides practical and emotional support to people affected by major trauma. You can self-refer on their website.

Call 0300 303 5648 or email dayone@dayonetrauma.org. Alternatively, you can visit https://www.dayonetrauma.org.

Essex Wellbeing Service

Access to emotional health and wellbeing support.

Visit https://www.essexwellbeingservice.co.uk/about.

Headway

Improving life after brain injury.

Call 0808 800 2244 or email  helpline@headway.org.uk. Alternatively, visit https://www.Headway.org.uk. 

Healthtalk

Personal experience platform.

Visit https://healthtalk.org. 

ICU steps

Supporting those affected by critical illness.

Call 0300 30 20 121 or visit https://icusteps.org.

Limbless Association

Providing support for amputees.

Call 0800 644 0185 or visit https://www.Limbless-association.org.

Limb Power

Supporting limb loss and limb differences.

Visit https://www.limbpower.com. 

Mind

Information and signposting services for those experiencing a mental health problem.

Call 0300 123 3393 or visit htpps://www.mind.org.uk.

National Mobility Rental

Long- and short-term wheelchair hire

Call 03700 949 80 or visit https://www.nationalmobilityhire.com. 

Shout

A free and confidential anonymous text support service for people struggling to cope. 

Text 'SHOUT' to 85258.

Spinal Injuries Association

Expert advice, information and support after being affected by a spinal cord injury. 

Call 0800 980 0501 or visit https://www.spinal.co.uk.

Steel Bones

Helping All Amputee Families live life to the full. One to one family support, free support packs, information and free events, school workshops 

Visit https://www.steelbone.co.uk.

Victim Support

A national charity giving free and confidential help to victims of crimes, witnesses and their family and friends.

Call 0808 1689 111 or visit https://www.victimsupport.org.uk. 

Support and Care After Road Death and Injury

To help those bereaved, injured, or affected by road traffic accidents.

Call 0845 123 5542 or visit https://www.scard.org.uk. 

Talkworks

Self-referral NHS talking therapy service.

Call 0300 555 3344 or visit https://www.talkworks.dpt.nhs.uk.

Trauma East Voices

A public and patient engagement group are interested in hearing about your experience of using the trauma system in the East of England. 

Visit https://www.eoetraumanetwork.nhs.uk/experience.

Chaplaincy whilst in hospital

We also have onsite chaplaincy team who can support you, regardless of faith or background. To find out more, visit our Chaplaincy services page.

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