The aim of this project is to reduce mortality and associated multi-organ failure from critical haemorrhage caused by trauma.

This project is a partnership between the National Trauma Network, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Health Quality & Safety Commission, the New Zealand Blood Service, the Australian and New Zealand Massive Transfusion Registry, ambulance services, emergency departments, perioperative teams and intensive care units. 

By working with the sector and trauma experts we developed national best practice guidance that, when adjusted for local context and scale, supports all parts of the trauma system to recognise critical haemorrhage and respond appropriately. Internationally, best practice in this area has been shown to reduce mortality, improve service quality and reduce cost.

Critical haemorrhage national guidance

Implementation of the critical bleeding national guidance

Ongoing monitoring

Summary

Blood loss remains a leading cause of death in trauma patients. However, advances in trauma systems and care mean that many haemorrhage deaths are now considered potentially avoidable if critical bleeding is recognised early and patients are moved quickly through treatment processes to surgery to control the bleeding. Internationally, standardisation of critical bleeding protocols has shown promising reductions in mortality. In Aotearoa New Zealand, a multi-agency partnership sought to reduce mortality and morbidity in critically haemorrhaging trauma patients by revising massive transfusion protocols to meet current best-practice trauma care, implementing a nationally agreed best-practice guideline and adapting this national guideline to work within the varying levels of our health care system.

The critical haemorrhage project’s aspirational goal is to achieve zero in-hospital deaths from trauma-related critical haemorrhage, and the overall project aim is to eliminate avoidable deaths from trauma-related critical haemorrhage and related multiple organ failure by 2025.

Background

Timeline