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Birmingham Accident Hospital, fondly known as The Acci, was set up in 1941 to manage the victims of the Blitz, troops injured during conflict overseas during World War II and local people injured in accidents in the factories of the Midlands.

Now, a new book describes its powerful impact then, and its continuing legacy in the treatment of military and civilian major trauma patients today. The book reflects on the significance of managing those injured in war in improving the care of trauma victims in today’s NHS.

Launched at the beginning of December at Birmingham’s Major Trauma Centre, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), Acci hospital alumni, clinicians, and military personnel from the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, gathered to hear about the major role the Acci had and celebrate its rich heritage.

QEHB’s Emeritus Professor of Clinical Traumatology, Sir Keith Porter, who commissioned the book, said:

“Birmingham Accident Hospital was at the forefront in almost every clinical advance from the wide introduction of antibiotics to the establishment of critical care in trauma.

“Regarded as the World’s first dedicated trauma centre, the hospital took in the injured from the Blitz in its early days, and from the Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974, which happened a mere mile away from Bath Row.

“What was learned on the ground there, in what was a hugely innovative centre of advanced trauma care and rehabilitation, were the principles which underlie all of today’s advanced civilian and military trauma care.”

Birmingham Accident Hospital closed in 1993, relocating first to the now also closed Selly Oak Hospital, and then to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where its staff played vital roles as part of the modern major trauma centre which treated injured service personnel from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The book’s author, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Prof Ian Greaves, is a Birmingham Medical School alumnus and military emergency medicine consultant who worked at both the Acci and Selly Oak Hospital and oversaw the provision of emergency medicine and prehospital care in Iraq and Afghanistan.

QEHB’s modern Major Trauma Centre status was designated in 2012. The impact of advanced trauma care and rehabilitation can be seen in the increased survival rates of people with major traumatic injuries, and in their quality of life after rehabilitation – firmly founded on the principles of care first learned at the Acci.

The Acci book is available to order online from Brewin Books.