Sir, – Prof John Hyland's opinion piece ("Consolidating trauma centres will save lives", February 5th) is a valuable contribution to the debate on this topic.
Prof Hyland asks us to keep in mind one simple fact in the political debate about the independent expert trauma review which proposes the development of two high-quality trauma centres in Ireland. If we do so, fewer people will die as a result of major trauma. He highlights the need for immediate expert medical intervention by experts with daily experience of trauma care. That can be provided only if we concentrate resources as proposed.
Needless to say, local politicians based some distance from the two proposed centres will know better.
In this era of scepticism about facts and experts, they will have no difficulty in dismissing the evidence cited by Prof Hyland that survival rates increased by 50 per cent over the five years following a similar consolidation of trauma care facilities in the United Kingdom. – Yours, etc,
PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.