Is high-quality trauma care "business as usual" in New Zealand?

New Zealand is on the cusp of establishing a world-class trauma system. Many of the building blocks are in place with national and regional guidelines in both the pre-hospital and hospital phases of care established. A dedicated clinical workforce is available in all DHBs and national data available through the Major Trauma Registry. The greatest threat to achieving high-quality trauma care in New Zealand at this point is governance stability rather than clinical variability. Now is the time to lock the trauma system into a framework not subject to political or bureaucratic whims.