[Organization of trauma admissions at Norwegian hospitals].

BACKGROUND: Treatment of major trauma is a demanding challenge for most hospitals. The potential benefits of improvement are substantial: it has been calculated that approx. 6,000 person-years are lost each year because of suboptimal treatment of trauma in Norway. Trauma teams, paging criteria, and manuals for appropriate resuscitative and diagnostic interventions are needed for improving the structure and quality of this service.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A telephone survey to Norwegian hospitals.

RESULTS: 27 (52%) of all 52 Norwegian hospitals receiving trauma victims had dedicated trauma teams, while 19 (37%) had paging criteria for trauma teams. 22 hospitals (42%) confirmed that they had manuals for the initial treatment of trauma victims. Smaller hospitals tended to have trauma teams and trauma manuals to a lesser extent. An interesting finding was that hospitals that participated in a collaborative project on trauma treatment (the so-called BEST network) were significantly more likely to have trauma teams, paging criteria, and trauma manuals.

INTERPRETATION: The results show that structural issues in relation to optimal trauma treatment still need more attention in Norwegian hospitals. Collaborative programmes for training and exchange of experience and procedures seem to be one way to go.