Post-Acute Trauma Recovery as a Systemic Continuity Challenge
Post-acute trauma recovery is increasingly recognised as a complex, multi-dimensional process that extends well beyond the point of discharge. While acute and early rehabilitation phases are typically well defined, the period that follows often lacks consistent structure, oversight, and continuity. This creates a critical gap within trauma pathways, not because care is absent, but because responsibility, coordination, and accountability become diffuse during a phase where recovery has not yet stabilised.
This foundation paper sets out the technical context for that gap: what it is, why it exists, what current guidance is calling for, and the governance and risk implications of leaving it unresolved.
Bridging the Post-Acute Trauma Continuity Gap in Practice
Bridging gaps in post-acute trauma care remains a persistent challenge within modern healthcare pathways. While acute treatment and early rehabilitation are often well structured, continuity frequently deteriorates once responsibility shifts beyond specialist teams. This exposes patients to fragmented oversight and increased clinical risk during a phase of recovery that remains inherently unstable.
These discontinuities do not arise from isolated service failures, but from how post-acute recovery is structurally positioned within existing systems. Understanding how and where continuity becomes unheld in practice is essential to improving long-term trauma recovery outcomes and patient safety beyond discharge.
