Despite more elderly patients being admitted to major trauma units across the UK, Hampshire doctors are warning that their care is “poorly managed”.

Dr Andy Eynon, director of major trauma at Southampton General Hospital, said that patients over 65 were often “overlooked” as trauma cases, despite accounting for more than a third of admissions.

Speaking ahead of the Wessex Trauma Network’s annual conference in Southampton today, he said the “silver” trauma issue required national action to boost survival rates and slash patients’ recovery time.

He said: “We have made fantastic progress in trauma care in the UK over the past couple of years with hundreds more lives saved, but elderly people have tended to be ex-cluded from the bracket of major trauma.

“This often results in delayed access to specialist trauma teams and, on some occasions, patients not being transferred from some hospitals to trauma centres that can provide the full range of care they require.”

Major trauma is the term describing life-threatening injuries commonly sustained through road traffic accidents, falls, violence or sporting injuries.

It is the fifth most common cause of death in the elderly.

Southampton General Hospital is one of only 12 centres across the country offering the full range of specialist surgical, intensive care and supporting services for both adults and children who suffer major trauma.

In a bid to ensure older patients get the very best care, clinicians in the city have developed a pioneering trauma and orthopaedic medical service to focus on their treatment.

Dr Eynon added: “Nationally we are seeing a series of problems relating to elderly trauma. Many of these patients suffer simple falls and do not activate specialist trauma teams because they are seen simply as frail and put on a traditional treatment path for their age.

“This has a knock-on effect, as the full diagnosis is often delayed and patients may not be referred to the designated major trauma centre, where they might benefit from specialist care.”