Are prehospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable? A summary report 29 6 Conclusions his report summarises the findings from a literature review (Oliver and Walter 2016) plus two empirical studies T currently submitted to a specialist journal for publication by Oliver, Walter and Redmond. The overall aim of this programme of research was to examine whether there has been a change in the nature, cause and preventability of death since the original 1994 research (study one), and whether there has been a change in the preventability of death, using a more recent calculation of the probability of survival (study two). Literature review Changes to the care of injured patients have been significant, improving on the deficiencies noted across a range of reports (Sleat and Willett 2011; Yates et al. 2002). However, trauma registries – the measures used to audit and monitor performance – have yet to extend into what Oliver and Walter (2016) refer to as the ‘therapeutic vacuum’.