Bastion, Birmingham and beyond – lessons learnt in trauma

Norman Rowe Lecture: Professor Sir Keith Porter

30 June 2017

Professor Sir Keith Porter delivered this year’s Norman Rowe Lecture to a packed hall of delegates at the 2017 BAOMS annual scientific conference in Birmingham. He told a clear, expert and inspiring story of how the development of military trauma care in war zones has been translated to highly effective practice in the care of civilians injured in attacks such as Manchester and London Bridge.

He described with clarity the life-threatening, critical injuries sustained by soldiers that drove changes in care that ensures the maximum preservation of life and function - and importantly quality of life – that are now mandatory for UK civilian casualties too.

The rapid response to a major incident in the UK follows the military model – conservative treatment at the scene of injury, then transfer to one of the dedicated major trauma centre teams set up as a network in 2008.

However, his wish for the future is that the specialist rehabilitation available to former military personnel will also be available to critically injured civilians, particularly if “there is another London or Manchester”.

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