The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Trauma Service hosted its first ever Victorian Trauma Grand Round; a state-wide initiative to bring out the best of the world leading Victorian trauma system.

The event aimed to equip and enable those in the trauma community to recognise and respond to non-accidental trauma in vulnerable children.

Over 300 health care professionals from across Victoria attended the event, which was also live-streamed to over 75 remote sites. These included metropolitan and regional hospitals within Victoria, Ambulance Victoria stations, Australia-wide healthcare sites and international sites in India, China and Saudi Arabia.

Director of the RCH Trauma Service Warwick Teague said the event represented how the trauma community is working together to support people in the most trying times.

“Based on the experience of the RCH – in young patients, non-accidental injury accounts for more deaths than passengers in motor vehicle accidents of the same age. That is a terrible statistic,” he said.

“Our trauma team share a very deep sense of satisfaction that the event was able to address the important issue of non-accidental injury so effectively and faithfully. The opportunity for the RCH to reach out across the state, country and globe with this educational message is truly exciting.”

Trauma experts from the RCH and the Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service (VFPMS) shared their expertise through discussing their services, bravely talking through case presentations and participating in a panel discussion.

The Victorian Trauma Grand Round is a collaborative initiative between the three Major Trauma Services: The Royal Children’s Hospital, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and The Alfred Hospital, Ambulance Victoria, Adult Retrieval Victoria and PIPER (Paediatric Infant Peri-natal Emergency Retrieval).

The collaboration provides a forum for healthcare professionals involved in acute trauma care in Victoria to explore and debate all aspects of trauma management.