Tactical Trauma

Could the NHS cope with a major conflict? In Part 2 of our St Emlyn's briefing, we explore how military casualties, reduced hospital capacity, infrastructure disruption and workforce pressures could affect everyday emergency care — and why we need to start preparing now.

St Emlyn's briefing | October 2026 Ed - this is a long read which is not our usual style, but there is much to be covered here. I hope you make it to the end (and some great references and further reading).

How do you decide when you don't have all the information? Iain Beardsell revisits Tactical Trauma to explore the judgements behind major incident care, triage, eCPR and trauma ECMO.

A case series from southern Gaza describes pericardiocentesis, drainage and intrapericardial tranexamic acid in 25 patients with penetrating cardiac tamponade. We examine the findings and their relevance to settings where emergency thoracotomy is unavailable, recognising the limits of this small study.

Dan Dworkis joins Iain Beardsell and Liz Crowe to discuss how emergency teams can improve under pressure. Recorded at Tactical Trauma 2024, the conversation explores how to define excellence, learn from other high-stakes teams and make small improvements during everyday work.

Sean Brayford-Harris explains the development of the Ten Second Triage tool in this interview from Tactical Trauma 24. The discussion explores its use by police, fire and ambulance responders, and its emphasis on simple assessment and immediate lifesaving actions during mass casualty incidents.