Media Studio was extremely pleased this week to deliver this substantial piece of work, which was project-managed by East of England Trauma Network Manager, Assiah Mahmood, and has now gone into its second edition. 

Major trauma is the leading cause of death in those aged under 40 and survival rates vary significantly between hospitals (National Audit Office, 2010). The TEMPO manual aims to provide all those involved in the care of major trauma patients in the east of England with additional information and guidance that will improve the care they give. It is based on an original concept from the Ministry of Defence and was devised by clinicians throughout the region.

Following the completion of the first edition in 2012, this second publication includes new sections and modified guidance based on user feedback. It has involved hundreds of clinicians, managers and commissioners across the region. The 270-page loose-leaf folder contains a wealth of information about the approved processes, pathways and management of patients with suspected major trauma. A hundred copies of the specially-printed folder will be distributed to Network hospitals around the region. The entire document has also been made available as an interactive file on the East of England Trauma Network website.

Since its inception, Media Studio has worked closely with Assiah and the Trauma Network Office team on the design and production of the folder to present a substantial amount of complex information in an intuitive format. The folder is divided into subsections and uses a set of icons to help identify roles and actions so as to help make navigation quick and easy.

Really effective information design can be an important factor in recording and communicating clinical details and this is nowhere more important than in the high-pressure environment of an emergency situation. In addition to the TEMPO folder, Media Studio has designed the East of England Trauma Network's Emergency Department trauma documentation. The intuitive layout of this 24-page form helps trauma teams across the region to record their casenotes from the pre-hospital phase onwards, in a logical, consistent and comprehensive format. 

Being a patient or close relative of a patient following a serious traumatic injury is one of the most stressful things you could experience, but knowing a little about what is likely to happen can help reduce the anxiety and fear. Your care with us – a new patient information booklet for the East of England Trauma Network – explains the patient journey and ensures that all trauma patients and their relatives have access to the same, high quality information about the stages of care in traumatic injury.