Devon Air Ambulance’s IMPACT partnership identifies UK post-collision care research priorities

A new UK-wide research initiative led by Devon Air Ambulance’s IMPACT post-collision research unit has identified the top priorities for improving care following road traffic collisions, with a strong focus on pre-hospital response, interagency coordination, and patient outcomes.

The Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), described as the first of its kind in the UK, focused specifically on road injury and post-collision care, bringing together survivors, families, bystanders, paramedics, air ambulance clinicians, police, fire and rescue services, researchers, and charities to identify the most urgent unanswered questions in the field.

The resulting top 10 research priorities focused on areas including earlier recognition of life-threatening injuries, faster and safer casualty extrication, improved coordination between emergency services, greater use of vehicle and scene data, enhanced dispatcher support tools, and better integration of patient-defined recovery outcomes.

The initiative was led by IMPACT, Devon Air Ambulance’s dedicated post-collision research unit, in partnership with the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Funding was provided by Vision Zero South West and Transport Scotland.

Tim Nutbeam, who leads the IMPACT research unit, said the partnership provided “a roadmap for research and system improvement”.

“This emphasizes early recognition, rescue, and initial care, where timely action can change outcomes,” he commented. “Systems that support positive outcomes around coordination, data flow, and decision support relating to dispatch, scene, and vehicle data are central themes in the priorities.”

The report also highlighted the role of equity and long-term recovery in trauma response, stressing the need for future research to incorporate patient perspectives alongside operational and clinical outcomes.

Dr Andy Smith, Chair of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, noted the project demonstrated the value of collaboration across the emergency response sector.

“When the right people share the same table, the work that follows can save lives,” he added.

The findings reinforce growing interest in data-driven dispatch systems, integrated multi-agency response models, and evidence-based approaches to roadside extrication and trauma care.