Improving patient experience and outcomes following serious injury

This study highlights perceived issues in the patient care pathway in the transition from inpatient to community-based care, especially communication and discharge information provided by surgical clinical teams and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). Comprehensive inpatient care and clinical handover to primary care (rather than discharge planning processes) by dedicated clinical trauma services may provide more holistic models for surgical services to improve their influence on the transition of trauma patients into the community, assisted by organisation changes and support to enable effective service delivery. Specifically, trauma patients and their carers perceived the need for better screening and treatment for psychological trauma in the inpatient and outpatient setting; better information exchange prior to the transition from inpatient to primary care; more convenient and accessible follow-up services including a single point of contact for coordination of post-discharge care; and acknowledgement and practical support to relieve the significant and pervasive carer burden identified in this study. These findings provide the opportunity to implement focused system changes to provide more equitable and effective support in the transition to community care and beyond. The end result will be better experiences for patients and whānau, and improved health and vocational outcomes following serious injury.