Following significant engagement and participation from a broad range of multidisciplinary teams across the Network this pathway provides guidance from imaging to discharge for the patient who has suffered a chest injury. The GM Major Trauma Network would like to acknowledge the collaborative work on this project and thank all contributors for their help in developing this pathway.

See below for:

• Guidance document – this includes important interventions and process for referral
• Stratification document – includes guidance on assessment and timely imaging (following a red,amber or green stream)
• Treatment document – emphasising early appropriate analgesia, MDT intervention from acute pain teams, physiotherapy and regular timely review and onward referral
• Analgesia document – provides guidance on non-invasive and invasive analgesic options
• Injury Severity Score (ISS) guidance – examples of scores for isolated chest injuries. These are examples to aid referral discussions and are not an exhaustive list

The GM Chest Injury Pathway v1.1 (2024) replaces the previous version (GM Chest Injury Pathway 2020)