Patient Information
Welcome
Dear Patient/Family/Carer,
The Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Unit is honoured to have the opportunity to care for you in this difficult time.
We understand that Trauma and Emergency Surgery can cause significant stress or anxiety in one’s life, and we aim to provide a specialty service that recognises this.
Our unit of dedicated surgeons, doctors, nurses and administrative staff aim to provide you with streamlined care with early senior supervision so as to provide world class care and specialist expertise in Emergency General Surgery and Trauma.
We are proud of Liverpool Hospital’s long history and recognition as a leader in Trauma care. We merged our Trauma and Acute Surgical Units in July 2019 and have been able to further boost the function and reputation of our hospital by doing so. We aim to continue to develop this excellent reputation by providing you with the best care possible.
We look forward to looking after you and ask that if you have any concerns, please reach out to any one of our helpful staff so that we can attend to your needs promptly.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Valerie Malka
Director Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Unit
Dr Paul Lambrakis
Trauma and Acute Care Surgeon
Liverpool Hospital
Who are we?
The Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Unit (TACS) at Liverpool Hospital is a specialised unit created to attend to the care of urgently admitted surgical patients. Our focus is on two main specialty areas: Trauma, and Emergency General Surgery
How we work
Our unit is on call for all trauma and general surgical emergencies from 06:00—16:00 Monday to Friday and remain responsible for the management of your condition outside of these hours. If you have been referred to our unit’s care, our team will review you and assess your clinical needs.
We provide a Specialist Consultant Surgeon led service which allows for early, senior decision making and supervision throughout your stay with us. Our unit is the first in Australia to provide a fully staffed service providing dedicated surgeons in the specialty fields of Emergency General Surgery and Trauma Surgery.
Our Surgeons change over each week after a thorough clinical handover process. This means that you will have a different “in-charge surgeon” each week you spend in hospital. Our specialists also share responsibilities for the supervision of your follow-up appointments, clinic reviews and elective operating lists.
Our fellows, registrars and junior medical officers and specialty nurses make up the team dedicated to ensuring your safe day-to-day progress in hospital.
Our senior nursing staff provide specialist nursing care in Trauma management. They help with care coordination for our trauma patients while in hospital and may contact you regarding Trauma related research.
Our administrative staff will assist with enquiries, clinic appointments and follow-up arrangements. Contact details are provided overleaf.
Our entire team is dedicated to ensuring timely investigation and management of your condition, whilst remaining sensitive to your personal needs during this complex journey. They will coordinate care with our multiple other Specialty Units (e.g. Radiology Department, Intensive Care, Anaesthetics Teams, Operating Theatres, Nursing Staff etc.) to provide you with the best possible care. We will also endeavour to keep you and your family/carer involved and informed throughout the course of your care with us.
Our hospital also provides a General Surgical after hours emergency on call roster separate to our Unit’s on call arrangements. If you would like to find out who is in charge of your care, please ask any of the nursing or medical staff for clarification.
Will I need an operation?
You have been admitted under the care of a surgical specialist for the purpose of treating your condition. By the time you read this information, you may have already had an operation. Note that in the setting of trauma or emergency surgery, occasionally more than one operation will be required. Your surgical team will keep you aware of plans for surgery. Please ask if you have any questions regarding plans for operations.
What care will I get?
Our dedicated team will ensure that we provide you with prompt decision making and care plans. We will prioritise any operation that you may need depending on the clinical urgency of your operation. Access to emergency theatre time will depend on the operating theatre workload at the time of your care. Please talk with our team members if you have questions about the treatment you receive. Your treatment plan will depend on what your condition is or what injuries you have sustained. As part of your treatment, you may have additional care provided by our allied health team members who include:
- Physiotherapy: may be needed to assist with encouraging deep breathing and coughing exercises as part of your care. Limb exercises and education regarding splints, plasters or braces. May also be needed to help you regain strength and ensuring that you are safe with mobilising.
- Occupational therapy: may be needed to assist with assessing your ability to manage safely at home or any equipment or assistance you may need when you go home. For patients who have had a head injury, they may need to assess memory and cognition.
- Social work: may be needed to assist during these challenging times. They can provide emotional support for you or your family, provide resources for discharge plans and referrals for housing or aged/residential care placement, income maintenance and other opportunities for community support during your recovery.
When will I go home?
Our team will get you home as early as possible, and we will ensure that you are safe and no longer need hospital care. For those who cannot go home immediately, transfers to other hospitals, respite, rehabilitation or aged care residential placement may be required depending on your situation and we may need to wait for a bed to become available at those other facilities. Our teams will keep you informed of discharge plans ahead of time.
Who can I ask if I have more questions?
All of our helpful staff are happy to assist you with any questions. Our nursing staff and team doctors will be the best people to ask.
For follow-up appointments, please contact us
Information regarding our outpatient clinics can be found here
Interpreter Services
The TACS Unit is dedicated to ensuring that your care can be provided in a language you understand. A large number of our patients will require formal interpreter services and we encourage the use of interpreters to ensure that clear and accurate information is provided to patients and/or their carers. This service is provided free of charge. If you or your family require interpreter services, please let us know before your appointment and our staff will organise an interpreter in your preferred language.
Make a Booking
We do not currently have the ability to run an online booking system. Please get in touch with us to make an appointment and our friendly staff will help you.