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Trauma System

Most trauma systems in North America follow an "exclusive" system design. In other words, they are institutionally based (run by the tertiary hospital), and view trauma strictly as a surgical disease. The primary concern of the exclusive system is treatment of the most severely injured patient during the acute care phase. Prevention, rehabilitation and the role of smaller hospitals and the emergency health system tend to be ignored. Fortunately, there is now a growing trend to move away from the exclusive trauma system design.

The Nova Scotia Trauma Program promotes the fact that injury is a team disease which requires a multidisciplinary approach to prevention and treatment. The goal of Nova Scotia's trauma system is to facilitate the provision of optimal trauma care to the community by providing leadership, injury prevention & control, education, research & trauma system development. . This type of trauma system is known as an inclusive trauma system.

A true inclusive trauma system, and Nova Scotia's is no exception, recognizes the full spectrum of injury as a disease epidemic and does not focus solely on the most seriously injured patient. Thus, the inclusive trauma system design represents a shift away from the more traditional approach to trauma care which only addresses the needs of severely injured persons, to a system that focuses on prevention and the needs of a wider range of injured patients. Research has clearly demonstrated that a well-designed inclusive trauma system will significantly reduce the occurrence of injury, and lead to a marked decrease in both death and disability.

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