David Rew Consultant General Surgeon

Surgical Lessons from Basra and Bastion for the Modernisation of NHS Trauma Care

David A. Rew JASGBI 2011, 33, 38-39

Introduction
War has often been the greatest stimulus to technological and organisational innovation. The past decade has seen a transformation in the modus operandi of the Defence Medical Services (DMS) and of the quality of its clinical outputs under the extreme pressures of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and under a continuous media and political spotlight. Much of the clinical work of the DMS has involved the treatment of complex trauma among civilians and combatants. This has arisen from the nature, tactics and weaponry of sophisticated insurgencies, and from the increased survivability of troops in combat.