Major Trauma Centres (MTCs) such as Southmead Hospital are giving seriously-injured patients a better chance of survival, according to a new report.

Since their introduction in 2012, 1,600 extra patients have survived in MTCs across the country, with survival rates at Southmead Hospital amongst the highest.

As the adult MTC for the Severn major trauma network, the most seriously-injured patients from Gloucestershire, Somerset and parts of Wiltshire are brought to Southmead.

Last year 1,200 patients were treated at Southmead Hospital’s MTC. One of those patients, Lucy Killingbeck, was brought in after a horse had a stroke and landed on her causing a number of injuries including a pelvic fracture, ruptured bladder and lower back fractures.

“The care I received from the staff was fabulous and I have them thank for saving my life.

“Everyone was so kind, I was struggling to keep food down and the catering staff bent over backwards to find me something," Lucy said.

Lucy, who judges horses and has ridden around the world professionally, added: “A year ago I was in a hospital bed unsure what the future would hold for me. I was told it was likely I would never ride again but thanks to the treatment I received I’m hoping to compete again in a couple of weeks.”

Dr Ben Walton, clinical director of the MTC at Southmead Hospital, said: “We are delighted with the latest national survival figures and see it as a ringing endorsement of all of the hard work that is put in."

To read the report, compiled by the Trauma Audit and Research Network, go to thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(18)30007-5/fulltext.