INTRODUCTION

The timely and aggressive resuscitation of seriously injured trauma patients requires rapid assessment and efficient management of the injuries. Over the past thirty years, fatalities from trauma have decreased markedly due to the increased awareness of simple trauma care principles, such as those of the American College of Physicians Advanced Trauma Life Support [ATLS] (1). However, the ATLS approach is designed so that tasks are performed in sequence, one after the other, resulting in a ‘vertical organization’. A trauma team employing a ‘horizontal organization’ has been shown to lead to significant reductions in resuscitation times (2).