The Trauma Centre

The Trauma Centre at Rigshospitalet does not have open access to the emergency department treating minor injuries.

The nearest Accident & Emergency Department is located at Bispebjerg Hospital.

About us

The Trauma Centre at Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet is a highly specialized unit that receives severely injured (> 1.000 patients/year) and acutely ill patients (450 patients/year) from the eastern part of Denmark. Furthermore seriously burned patients from all over Denmark are received for treatment at the Burns Centre (250 patients/year). The emergency department (restricted access) is treating 12.000 patients/year.

Limited access to the emergency department

The Trauma Centre at Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet does

not have open access to the emergency department treating minor injuries. Therefore, patients with no serious acute illness or acute severe injury will be referred to another hospital in the Capital Region with an open access Accident & Emergency Department.

The Trauma Centre at Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet apologizes for the inconvenience. However, we have to ensure that we can always treat those patients who require special examination and treatment after serious injury or severe illness.

The nearest Accident & Emergency Department is located at Bispebjerg Hospital.

Other functions

Acute Coordination Center, Rigshospitalet
Trauma Team activation
Cardiac arrest team activation
Helipad
Outpatient Clinic for needle sticks and other sharps-related injuries (for the employees on Rigshospitalet only)
Antidote storage
Inquiries related to the Danish Donor Registry

Our approach

Care of the injured or severely ill patient often begins outside hospital as the patient is treated by a doctor on scene and on route. When arriving to Rigshospitalet, the patient is taken directly to the Trauma Suite. Here our trauma or acute team receives the patient.

After the trauma team has diagnosed and stabilized a patient's injuries (primary and secondary survey), the patient may be admitted to the hospital. If necessary, the patient can undergo operation in the resuscitation area, or the patient is brought to the specialty specific operating room. Patients not need an operation will be admitted to a ward or stay in the Trauma Center for observation.

Management

Casper Claudius

Head of Department, PhD, MPG
Email: casper.claudius@regionh.dk
Phone: +45 35 45 12 58

Lisa Bryde Harms
Chief Nurse, SD/MPG
Email: lisa.bryde.harms@regionh.dk
Phone: +45 35 45 12 34

Research

Already the commonest cause of loss of life under the age of 40 the burden of trauma is set to increase in the next 20 years. Taking a global view of 'life years lost' through premature death and disability, injury will be in 2nd place in 2020.

A lot of the tragedies represented in these staggering statistics are preventable but in Denmark, as elsewhere, there is also unnecessary mortality directly due to inadequacies in the organization and delivery of care. In the 1980s, research in North America identified the causes of these failures and in 1988 a working group in the Royal College of Surgeons of England drew remarkably similar conclusions. A significant change of trauma management was recommended which included:

Enhancing pre-hospital care, ensuring appropriate medical intervention
Rapid transfer to the best local facility
Assessing the use of helicopters
Adopting ATLS principles
Integrating trauma services within and between hospitals
Investing in rehabilitation services
Auditing and Researching injury and systems of care

The research in the Trauma Center is centered around the above mentioned areas.

Scientific publications

Research staff

Claus Falck Larsen
Head of Clinic, associate professor, DMSci, MPA, FACS
E-mail: claus.falck.larsen@regionh.dk
Telephone +45 3545 4600
DECT +45 3545 8005

Anne Marie Sørensen
Senior Consultant, associate professor, ph.d
E-mail: anne.marie.soerensen@regionh.dk
Telephone +45 3545 1255

Contact

Trauma Center and Acute Admission
Rigshospitalet
Section 3193
Blegdamsvej 9
DK-2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Tel: +45 3545 3193
Fax: +45 3545 5640

Map

E-mail:

traumecenter.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk