Rib care package is national exemplar

The broken rib treatment package developed at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been recommended as an exemplar for all UK Trusts.

The recommendation has come in the latest survey by the national body that issues guidance and develops clinical protocols for the management of all chest trauma.

It was stated that Plymouth has developed a network-wide system to include all key clinicians in local trauma units with a very successful network meeting which will be followed by an annual “road show”. It said that ‘this is excellent practice that should be replicated in other networks’.

Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Adrian Marchbank said: “This is a great endorsement of the work that has been going on at Derriford Hospital over the last few years. We are the surgical centre in Devon and Cornwall for this technique that was pioneered in the US and Europe. It is proving really effective and means patients suffer less pain, can leave hospital far earlier and can often return to work where this would not necessarily have been possible using traditional treatment.

“We held a conference to share knowledge about this in October which was very well attended and successful.”

Derriford is one of the busiest centres in the UK for this operation. More than 50 patients have been treated with the new equipment and methods at Derriford so far – most with multiple broken ribs. Research into the operation is ongoing at Derriford with auditing of Trust results ready to be benchmarked against other organisations. Research results will be presented at a national meeting in 2016.