Audit Tool for Assessing Trauma-Informed Practices in Salford GP Settings

Trauma is a response to an overwhelming stressful event or series of events that exceeds the capacity to cope. The effects of trauma can be long-lasting.
 

Traumatic events can happen at any age and can cause long-lasting harm. They can be a single incident where a person experiences a sudden loss, or they are directly harmed or witnessing harm. It can also be a series of incidents / events and can also happen such as experiencing domestic, physical, emotional, sexual abuse or neglect.
 

Everyone is different and how they react to trauma, or a traumatic event will be individual to them and how the event(s) made them feel at the time; how frightened, under threat, abandoned or humiliated they felt.
 

Experiencing trauma may lead to flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, being jumpy, avoidance or having relationship difficulties.
 

Trauma-informed care (TIC) represents a fundamental shift in healthcare delivery, moving from asking "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?". This approach recognises the profound impact that traumatic experiences have on physical, mental, and emotional health and acknowledges that healthcare environments themselves can potentially re-traumatise vulnerable patients if not designed with care and intention.
 

The Marmot report ‘Ten years on’ demonstrates where change has been made but also where nationally, regionally and locally we have seen the impact of austerity, stalling life expectancy and widening inequalities. Salford has committed to the Marmot principles alongside Greater Manchester commitment to become a Marmot region. The Salford Standards 2025-2026 are enabling primary care to play its part in this and this audit tool will provide practices with a practical means for reviewing and enacting organisational change.
 

For GP practices, adopting a trauma-informed approach is not a niche specialty but a core component of effective, equitable care. As the first point of contact for most patients, general practice is uniquely positioned to:

• Identify the health impacts of trauma.

• Build trusting, long-term relationships that facilitate healing.

• Prevent re-traumatisation through conscious, compassionate practices.

• Improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, and overall health outcomes.

• Reduce staff burnout by providing a framework for managing complex interactions.

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Below is the toolkit that we have created: