Most in Ontario expect trauma center care

TORONTO, July 30 (UPI) -- More than eight in 10 people in Ontario say they would want to be taken directly to a trauma center if seriously injured, researchers say.

However, any kind of trip to a trauma center, direct or otherwise, is not guaranteed, Dr. Avery Nathens, St. Michael's trauma director, says. Sixty-two percent of seriously injured adults in Ontario are taken to their nearest hospital first and 69 percent are never transferred to a trauma center, Nathens says.

Nathens say his previous research found that going directly to a trauma center -- even if it means bypassing a closer hospital -- results in a nearly 25 percent lower death rate, cost savings and improved quality of life among those who survive their injuries.

"Getting to a trauma center within that 'golden hour' when treatment might make the difference between life and death is possible in major cities," Nathens says.

However, because of the large size of the province of Ontario, the mean time between being injured and getting to a trauma center in Ontario is almost 6 hours, Nathens says.

A trauma center is a hospital with a trauma team of specially trained personnel available 24 hours a day, every day, to provide immediate treatment for the most critically injured patients. Some have a helipad for receiving patients who need to be airlifted to the hospital.

Of the 150 acute care hospitals in Ontario, only 11 are trauma centers, two of which specialize in children.