Care of road traffic accident victims in a district general hospital.

It has been suggested that 20-33% of trauma related deaths are preventable. The Accident and Emergency Department of Luton and Dunstable Hospital, therefore, set out to examine its own performance and to attempt to highlight areas of possible improvement. The department sees 65,851 new patients per annum, 3936 of these were victims of road traffic accidents (RTA). There were 184 patients admitted and six died. One death was considered preventable; shortcomings were noted with delay in availability of services. It is recommended that early assessment by experienced clinicians and easy access to theatre facilities and diagnostic imaging be available in district general hospitals to improve the quality of care for trauma victims.