New figures suggest 58 seriously injured patients survived because they were taken directly to a specialist centre by the London Ambulance Service.
Since April 2010, London Ambulance crews have taken those seriously injured in falls, car crashes, stabbings and shootings directly to one of four major trauma centres where they get immediate access to clinical experts.
Staff at the service’s control room monitor the number of patients being taken to each centre to ensure they will get fast access to clinical experts.
The service says approximately 4,000 patients benefited from being taken to a major trauma centre last year.
Figures released by NHS London show 58 extra patients survived their injuries to leave hospital compared to the national average.
London Trauma Director and London Ambulance Service Medical Director Dr Fionna Moore said: “By centralising specialist care we’re seeing more lives saved and the quality of those lives improved, by reducing the risk of permanent disability and lengthy hospital stays.
“Londoners who suffer major life-threatening injuries can access immediate world class consultant care 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the capital’s trauma network.
“London Ambulance Service staff are trained to deliver vital on-the-spot treatment and take the patients that need it most to one of four major trauma centres where they will receive the highest standard of care straight away.
“An extra 58 people are now alive who otherwise would not have been were it not for the trauma networks and we hope to develop this to save even more lives.”
