Major Trauma Practitioners

In addition to specialist clinical teams working in the hospital, within the major trauma service there are experienced specialist nurses and therapists, known as "Major Trauma Practitioners" (MTPs).

The role of MTPs is to be a "key worker" for patients and their families. They will:

provide information, advice and support both during and after patients' stay;
help coordinate their care.

Each key worker will aim to meet with a patient within the first 48 hours of his/her admission to talk about his/her treatment and start to develop a plan with him/her rehabilitation and recovery.

The Major Trauma Service also has support from two Rehabilitation Medicine Consultants, and a Clinical Psychologist, if the patient needs it.

Major Trauma Practitioners and HART Therapists:

The MTCs Major trauma practitioners and HART Therapists are a centralised team of Specialist Nurses and Allied Health Professionals, providing a Key Worker service between 08:30-16:30, 7 days per week. They have comprehensive training and knowledge backgrounds covering acute, community and a variety of specialties’ required to deliver expert care to major trauma patients. The Key Worker element to their role ensures support / information provision for patients and their families during their time at Southmead, enables continuity of high quality care and guides them through their onward transition from the MTC

This service also delivers hyperacute multidisciplinary therapy to complex major trauma and neurosurgical patients. Hyper-acute rehabilitation refers to the rehabilitation of patients from the earliest point in their recovery where they might benefit from such intervention through to the point that they are moved to either a dedicated Level 1 or 2 specialist rehabilitation unit or to be managed by appropriate community services.

Physiotherapy - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner & HART Therapy Lead

Beezy Wakefield

BSc (Hons), MCSP, HCPC

Beezy graduated from Southampton University in 2004. After 7 years of completing her core training at North Bristol NHS Trust, she specialised in Trauma and Orthopaedics. She spent 9 years leading and developing the trauma physiotherapy service and 2021 she secured a post in the Major Trauma Team as a practitioner with a special interest in pelvic and lower limb trauma. In November 2022 she became lead AHP for the HART team.

Physiotherapy - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Denise Axelsen

Denise Axelsen is qualified as a physiotherapist in 2010 (from University of the West of England), having worked within the fields of intensive care, neurosurgery and Major Trauma, where she has been working as a Major Trauma Practitioner since 2018. She supports the Network as Allied Health Professional Lead with the goal of uniting the delivery of rehabilitation across our region and throughout our Trauma Units.

Physiotherapy - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Nicholas Crease

Nick trained as a physiotherapist at the University of the West of England, Bristol qualifying in 2009. Following posts treating patients at several acute Hospital Trusts across England and Wales, and a period of travel, he returned to work in Bristol at Southmead Major trauma centre as a Senior physiotherapist in 2015. In 2018 after three years of treating complex orthopaedic, respiratory and spinal injured patients he stepped into the role of Major Trauma Practitioner, assisting in the management of those most injured patients attending the Trauma Centre. Nick has interest in complex pelvic and spinal trauma, older persons trauma and injury prevention – supporting national projects, alongside community and local government initiatives in this area.

Physiotherapy - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Cora Deegan

Speech and Language Therapist - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Emma Bailey

Emma qualified from City University as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2016. The beginning of Emma’s career was spent in acute London hospitals working across areas including stroke, neurosurgery, upper airway and critical care. Moving back to the South West, she then specialised in neuro-rehabilitation at Frenchay Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit before finally joining the Major Trauma team in August 2022. In her current position, Emma is excited and privileged to deliver therapy and support the development of the Hyper Acute Rehabilitation team alongside her major trauma practitioner role. Emma’s areas of interest include supporting teaching opportunities, tracheostomy and complex neuro-rehabilitation. Outside of work she enjoys gardening, swimming, running and attempting to surf!

Speech and Language Therapist - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Hannah Austin

Hannah qualified from Plymouth Marion University as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2019. Hannah began working in community rehabilitation in South Gloucestershire working with patients with progressive neurological diseases, long term conditions, stroke and frailty. With NBT, Hannah has worked across areas including hyper-acute stroke, facilitating aphasia conversation groups, neurosurgery and complex care pathways. In 2022 Hannah joined the Major Trauma Service, contributing to the development of the Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team, combined with her Major Trauma keyworker role. She has particular interest in Traumatic Brain Injury, complex dysphagia management and neuro-rehabilitation.

Speech and Language Therapist - Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Rory

Rory qualified from Manchester Metropolitan University as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2021. He has worked in the Neurology directorate at Southmead Hospital since 2016; first as a Band 2 HCA, then as Band 3 Behavioural HCA, until deciding to follow SALT as a career. After finishing his Masters, he was employed by the Core Clinical team as a Band 4 SALT assistant before finally joining the Hyper Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) in September 2022 as a newly qualified SALT. In his role he delivers therapy and assessment of acute swallowing and communication disorders for patients in the very early stages of their rehabilitation, as well as support and education for friends and family. Rory has an interest in acute neuro-surgery and neuro-rehabilitation

Occupational Therapist - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Hannah Stroud

Hannah studied Occupational Therapy at Plymouth University and graduated in 2015. Hannah spent the first 2 years of her career as a rotational member of staff before becoming a static within stroke. Following this Hannah was successful in gaining a post on the Neurosciences rotation at North Bristol Trust, whilst working on the Neurosurgery ward her special interest in Major Trauma and complex rehabilitation developed. In June 2022 she joined the Major Trauma Team as an Occupational Therapist supporting the development of the Hyper Acute Rehabilitation Team.

Occupational Therapist - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Lucy Thomas

Lucy graduated from Cardiff University as an Occupational Therapist in 2009. She began her career in brain injury at the Bath Neuro Rehab Service before joining the general rotation at the Bristol Royal Infirmary where she worked for 8 years. Here she gained experience across multiple clinical specialities including Stroke, Oncology and Haematology, Trauma and Orthopaedics and Surgery.

In 2019 Lucy joined the Neurosciences rotation at Southmead Hospital, working in Stroke and Neurosurgery. Lucy’s specialist interest in brain and spinal injury led to her joining the Major Trauma Team in 2022 as Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist and Major Trauma Practitioner.

Occupational Therapist - Major Trauma and Hyper-Acute Rehabilitation Team (HART) Practitioner

Claire Campbell

Major Trauma Nurse Practitioner

Anna Greene

Qualified as a nurse from Leeds University in 2010. She has always had a keen interest in Major Trauma, starting her career in Oxford John Radcliffe hospital Trauma ward, subsequently she moved to work in several London hospitals in the Emergency Departments. Since 2017 she has been working as a Major Trauma practitioner initially at St Georges Hospital in London and then relocating to the Southwest and Southmead hospital in 2021. Anna has a keen interest in Education and now has an extended role as the Severn Major Trauma Network Nursing Education Lead.

Major Trauma Nurse Practitioner

Laura Crowle

Laura qualified from The University of Leeds as a Nurse in 2002. Laura has worked in a variety of surgical wards, including General Surgery, Urology and Plastic Surgery. Her interest in trauma started whilst looking after complex trauma patients undergoing plastic surgery. Laura has been working for the Major Trauma Service since 2013. She is a member of the National Major Trauma Nursing Group, which was started to develop Nurse Education and competencies for nurses caring for major trauma patients. Laura is the lead nurse for governance at the Major Trauma Centre. She has a keen interest in patient and staff wellbeing. Laura has undertaken Advanced Practice modules, including Patient Assessment and Clinical Reasoning, Pathophysiology and Diagnostic Reasoning for Advancing Practice, and Non-medical prescribing.

Major Trauma Nurse Practitioner

Kaitlin Lynch

Kaitlin qualified with her nursing degree from University of Detroit Mercy in 2012 and with her Masters of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan in 2018. After qualifying as a nurse practitioner, she began working for a neurosurgery team in Detroit, Michigan. She moved to England and started at Southmead Hospital in December of 2021, working on an elective surgical ward. Kaitlin began working as a Major Trauma Practitioner in July of 2022.