Saint John hospital best option for trauma centre: report

A report jam-packed with recommendations says when it comes to handling seriously injured people, New Brunswick needs to do a much better job, and the health minister has taken the first step in improving it.

According to a 160-page report by Hay Group Health Care Consulting, the province lacks a comprehensive quality care system, and patients' pre-hospital trauma care is, at best, fragmented.

Among the report's conclusions is that the Saint John Regional Hospital is the only one in the province currently functioning at or close to the status of a Level 1 trauma centre, and that all other hospitals should become part of a formal trauma network.

Health Minister Mike Murphyappointed a committee to create and oversee the trauma network.

The study was triggered by one Tracadie man's nightmarish experience.

In November 2005, Donald Thomas was in a head-on collision, sustaining a perforated lung, lacerated liver and several shattered bones. Though he needed immediate trauma attention, he waited 18 hours before he saw a doctor.

He was shuttled from the emergency room in Tracadie, to Bathurst Hospital, and finally airlifted to the Saint John Regional Hospital.

The report offers the minister 54 recommendations in total, some as simple as banning cellphone use while driving, or creating a minimum age for drivers of ATVs and snowmobiles.

It also points out that moose collisions are exceptionally high in the province, and suggests more electrical fencing along highways.