Commentary: We never again want to say, "I'm sorry, your child has died"

• Published in: BMJ (Online) Vol. 364; p. l113
• Main Authors: Brooks, Adam, Reilly, John-Joe, Hope, Carla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 05.02.2019
• Subjects: Aggression; Firearms; Gloves; Injury prevention; Public health; Surgery; Trauma; Trauma centers; Violence; England; East Midlands England; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US
• ISSN: 0959-8138; 1756-1833
• DOI: 10.1136/bmj.l113

Correspondence to: A Brooks adam.brooks@nuh.nhs.uk Although much of the media focus on knife crime has been on London,1 the epidemic of violence is occurring across the UK, as Emma Wilkinson’s article makes clear.2 Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham provides care to a population of four million across the East Midlands and has the UK’s largest major trauma centre. For many years, leading figures in the field of trauma care have spoken out and advocated against violence.3 The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma in the US recently released their updated firearm injury prevention statement, confirming their position that firearm violence in the US is a public health crisis.4 Initiatives such as Stop the Bleed from the American College of Surgeons aim to teach basic life saving interventions that the public can deliver with minimal training, using a kit containing gloves, tourniquet, and haemostatic dressings. In 2017, a Royal College of Surgeons of England report5 recognised the need to train the next generation of surgeons to manage unstable trauma patients and, through Health Education England, major trauma training interface group fellowships have been developed.