NHS 75: Dr Justine Lee's role in transforming Major Trauma Service at QEHB

• Dr Justine Lee has looked after poly-trauma patients for the last 10 years working as a trauma surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Dr Justine Lee is a trauma surgeon for the Major Trauma Service at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB).

For the past 10 years, Dr Lee has been looking after poly-trauma patients – patients who suffer injury to multiple parts of their body.

Her team help the most seriously injured, such as those who have been involved in a road traffic accident.

Dr Lee has played a vital role in capturing the lessons that she learnt from looking after military patients for 18 years and bringing the best of casualty care into the NHS.

On the 75th anniversary of the NHS, Dr Lee said: "One thing I hope doctors in training take away from my journey is that there are many routes and many ways to find happiness at work and in life.

"Sometimes I feel that imposter syndrome, but I know I am where I am meant to be."

From military to casualty, Dr Justine Lee's journey to the NHS

Dr Lee started her NHS career in dentistry, but in the third year of dental school, she realised high street dentistry wasn't the route she wanted to go down.

She decided to accept sponsorship with the army, which is where she spent the next 18 years.

That 18-year journey took Dr Lee through the remainder of dental school, onto medical school and into a career in Oral and Maxillofacial and Trauma Surgery - where she is today.

But Dr Lee says that the real determining factor in her career today was when she went to war.

In 2003, the military had the call-up to go to Iraq.

Dr Lee was working in a dental practice at the time and had received a call to say she would be deployed because of the potential situation developing in Iraq.

She was based in Oxford at the time, so she packed and drove to Portsmouth to register.

However, when she arrived, she was told that her name wasn’t on the list.

She went back to her car and knew she had a decision to make – to either go back home or go back in and tell them to take her with them.

Within six hours, Dr Lee was on the bus, committed to going to war.

Dr Lee said there is something very different about being on deployment, with a unit whose sole function is to look after injured casualties.

Now, Dr Lee realises she's been training for her current role in the NHS her entire life.

She retired from the military 10 years ago but continued to do the same work she was doing before, but was now trying to understand the NHS system and how, within the NHS, she could capture those lessons that she learnt from looking after military patients and bring the best of casualty care into the NHS.

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