'Sad reality' as Nottingham major trauma unit sees massive increase in teenage stabbing victims

A top Nottingham surgeon has warned of a "massive increase" in the number of teenagers being stabbed in the city. The major trauma centre at the Queen's Medical Centre has treated around 200 patients aged between 18 and 25 for stabbing injuries over the last year.

In that time there have also been two deaths, according to Elena Theophilidou, a surgeon at the unit. "We’ve definitely seen a massive increase in teenage numbers," she said.

“It’s very difficult for us and for everyone involved. It’s sad to see but it’s becoming our reality."

The QMC's major trauma centre takes in patients from across the entire East Midlands - a catchment area that covers four million people. It treats upwards of 300 people per year, all of whom have highly serious and often life-threatening injuries.

The unit has been instrumental in training more than 1,000 people, including police officers, bouncers and railway workers, to treat people in the case of a major bleed.

“We need to educate teenagers on bleed kits. It’s awful but it’s becoming part of life now," said Ms Theophilidou.

Zoe Draper, a major trauma case manager, said the causes of most of the stabbings could be anything from county lines to “beef” between individuals and gangs. “It can just be a falling out, ‘you’ve looked at me dodgy or said this to this girl’ and people are given life-changing injuries or dying," she said.

Victims were dealt a "devastating" setback last year when external charity Redthread was withdrawn from the hospital, Ms Draper said. “They would deal with 11-25 year old stab victims. The first hour between being stabbed and coming to hospital is when victims are most vulnerable so they would try to get to them and build relationships," she said.

"They were cool and relatable to the kids. It’s so much more difficult for us in a uniform. They would work with the community. They were absolutely amazing."

More than 100 Stop the Bleed kits have been distributed to places such as bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs in the city since 2018. The kits, believed to only be used in Nottingham in the UK, originated in America after the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012.

Each one contains bandages, a tourniquet and special gauze to clot blood. “It’s not just about coming across someone who has been stabbed but you’re more likely to find someone who’s been stabbed than a motorcyclist who has a leg hanging off," said Ms Draper.

So far there has been one known use of a kit in 2020, where a police officer saved the life of a stab victim by treating him at the scene.