New survivor network provides support for people recovering from major injury

A novel patient support initiative at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) is being developed to support patients and families who have suffered traumatic injury and are navigating the complexity of recovery.

The Major Injury Survivors and Support Community (MISC+) aims to provide strategically placed support and interventions to both survivors and their support networks so they can lead meaningful lives after recovery.

The consumer-led, clinically integrated network plans to implement peer-supported bedside visits when trauma patients require access to visible and hopeful recovery messaging, and in time will be scaled to include group meetings and activities.

The project is led by the RBWH Trauma Service, with co-lead Dr Tanya Smyth, Research Fellow at the Jamieson Trauma Institute, supporting a working group of 15 clinicians and consumers.

“Patients who have suffered significant injury can face a complex recovery with many challenges, so we felt it was important to implement additional support for these patients,” Dr Smyth said.

“Many trauma patients don’t have a sense of what their recovery will look like and don’t have anyone to look to for guidance, which can translate to a loss of control, disrupted identity and often social isolation.”

“We wanted to create a model of care which provides access to hopeful, recovery-oriented messaging and supports rebuilding a sense of self, visibility of role models with lived experience and support navigating the complex healthcare system.”

RBWH trauma patient Mark spent 202 days in hospital in 2025 after being involved in an accident which led to a complex traumatic injury.

“My complex injury impacted my sense of self and I struggled to understand what my recovery would look like. I didn’t know if I would ever get back to doing the things I love,” he said.

“Receiving bedside visits from trauma survivor Glen was a life-altering experience and a clear trigger for my recovery. Glen’s visits helped shift my perspective and gave me hope I could get through the challenges that lay ahead.

“I hope with the Major Injury Survivors and Support Community, we can offer this kind of hope to all complex trauma patients at RBWH and the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service.”

Long term, the group hopes to establish a leading, sustainable, and scalable consumer-led model of support for major injury survivors and their support networks across Australasia.

MISC+ is proudly supported by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and RBWH Foundation.