Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital has launched a new National Institute of Health Research for surgical reconstruction and microbiology.

The £20million centre will enhance the Edgbaston hospital's position as a world leader in medical research and innovative treatment.

It will draw on the hospital's role treating armed forces personnel injured in Afghanistan to ensure that new techniques developed to treat soldiers can be used to help civilians, such as victims of traffic accidents.

It will bring military and civilian trauma surgeons and scientists together to share the newest medical research and lessons learned on the battlefield.

The centre was hailed by the Surgeon General, the senior medical officer of the British Armed Forces, as “a hugely important initiative”.

It will be set up at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, where all injured service personnel are currently treated after evacuation from the frontline in Afghanistan.

Research will focus on the most urgent challenges in trauma treatment today, including identifying effective resuscitation techniques; surgical care after multiple injuries or amputation; and fighting wound infections.

For every trauma fatality in England, there are two people who are left with severe and often permanent injuries. But research into trauma care isn’t always shared across the NHS, according to the Department of Health.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “The new National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Centre will fund world-leading research to help people recover better and faster from severe injuries.