GEORGE TOWN: A “crash victim” arrives in the emergency room with multiple serious injuries, plunging blood pressure and a massive haemothorax threatening his life.
Within minutes, trauma doctors must secure his airway, assess his breathing, identify the source of bleeding, insert a chest tube, activate a massive transfusion protocol and stabilise him for emergency surgery.
That was the high-pressure scenario faced by medical staff from Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) at the Trauma Team Challenge 2026 here, as they raced against other teams to diagnose and treat a trauma manikin simulating a patient fighting for survival.
HKL’s Emergency Department senior medical officer Dr K. Renuka, who led the winning Trauma Titans team, said trauma resuscitation demanded speed, precision and teamwork.
“Trauma is very different from managing other patients because we have very limited time to save a patient. If surgery is needed, we have to get the patient ready for the operating theatre as quickly as possible.
“We have to assess the airway, breathing and circulation while identifying injuries and treating them at the same time,” she said at the Malaysia Trauma Conference 2026 at a hotel near here yesterday.
Dr Renuka said Trauma Titans trained for about a month using different scenarios without knowing what they would face in the challenge.
“We performed here as we would in our department. Every member had a role and we had to work together under pressure,” she said.
Seahorse Onyx from Hospital Miri finished second, while STATS from Hospital Serdang came third.
The teams performed before about 300 doctors attending the conference.
Hospital Selayang emergency physician Dr Gurjeet Singh, who won the competition in 2018, said its impact extended beyond the event itself.
“As more staff became involved in trauma, the system improved. Supplies became better, with hospitals buying more trauma-oriented equipment.
“It becomes a chain that continues and brings further development to trauma services in Malaysia,” he said.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab said trauma remained a major public health challenge, particularly among younger and working-age Malaysians.
“In Malaysia, transport-related injuries remain a major contributor to preventable deaths, particularly among those in their most productive years.
“Even when the first National Trauma Registry report was published in 2008, up to 30% of trauma deaths were considered preventable, and not much has changed since then.
“Our goal must be to develop a well-coordinated trauma network in which patients receive the right care, at the right place and at the right time, regardless of where they are in Malaysia,” Dr Mahathar said.
