IMPACT, the Centre for Post-Collision Research, Innovation and Translation, launched on Wednesday 25 June, has been set up to ‘reduce the leading cause of death and disability worldwide’.
The Devon-based centre delivers research and education and develops policy that measures the impact of road traffic collisions and, crucially, looks at how physical and psychological outcomes can be improved for those involved.
IMPACT was founded by Devon Air Ambulance, harnessing the charity’s clinical and research experience and commitment to innovation. It is entirely grant-funded, meaning that any public donations to Devon Air Ambulance continue to support its frontline operations.
Devon has one of the highest rates of serious road injury in England when adjusted for population. Every year, Devon Air Ambulance responds to around 200 serious road traffic collisions, and more than half of the trauma patients it attends are injured on the roads.
Devon also has the highest rate of medical events at the wheel in the country and is among the worst areas for road injury involving children and young people.
The launch brought together partners and funders involved in IMPACT’s development, including Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Devon and Cornwall Police, The Road Safety Trust, the Office of the Police and Crime Commission, highways teams and researchers.
Professor Tim Nutbeam, IMPACT’s director and Devon Air Ambulance doctor, said: “We believe that real change comes from multidisciplinary, multi-professional sharing and research. Impact is the result of an innovative collaboration between clinicians, fire and rescue professionals, police, data experts and policy leads.
“We owe it to our patients to keep asking difficult questions, to challenge long-held assumptions, and to work side-by-side across sectors to find better solutions.
“It’s an absolute privilege to collaborate with such dedicated and inspiring colleagues—and exciting to celebrate the power of teamwork, shared purpose, and evidence-led innovation.”
Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, and chair of Vision Zero South West, added: “We are determined to stop people dying or being seriously injured on our roads. We aim to firstly reduced the number by half by 2030.
“Tim (Nutbeam) and his team will help us achieve this ambition by working out ways to save lives if we can’t stop a collision. We are relentlessly focussed on enforcement and education but this work will be a game changer.”
Among the work carried out by IMPACT to date included the EXIT project. The ground-breaking, award-winning, project has revolutionised the approach emergency services take when responding to motor vehicle collisions, to reduce both deaths and disabilities.
The research studied the effect of extrication techniques applied to casualties following road traffic collisions.
It found that the ‘gold standard’ for extrication used since the 1960s – in which patients could remain in the vehicles for on average 30 minutes as slow, careful movements were used to avoid potential spinal injuries – was increasing the rate of death and injury.
Their research recommendation, that self-extrication should be delivered wherever possible with the extrication goal of minimising entrapment time, has now been adopted by emergency services in the UK and further afield.
A second, named Bystander, aims to decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with road trauma by rigorously considering the role of the bystander, including professional bystanders, in the post-collision phase of care.
Both projects have been funded by The Road Safety Trust.
Louise Palomino, grants and impact director at The Road Safety Trust, said: “We’re proud that we could contribute to this important life-saving work through our funding.
“The commitment to a broad partnership-based approach, rigorous evidence-based practice and a passion for saving lives shines through and we are confident that significant strides will be made in road safety and post-collision care as a result.”
FOOTNOTE: The film above shows the human impact of the pioneering work carried out by the team at IMPACT. Freddie’s story – See how a serious road collision on a road near Wellington almost resulted in the death of an 18-year-old boy, had it not been for the time-critical intervention of Tim and the emergency services attending the incident.
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