New medical centre cuts death rates by a third

A new emergency medical centre has cut its patient death rates by a third, it was revealed today.

Figures show fatalities at Chelsea and Westminster hospital's acute medical unit have fallen from 1.6 per cent to just over one per cent since it opened last year. The centre was set up to offer rapid diagnosis and direct access to a range of health experts.

Royal Bank of Scotland manager Shelene Newton, pictured, is among those who fully recovered thanks to the new admissions technique. Ms Newton, 32, was minutes away from death because of an undetected blood clot in her lung. The non-smoker from Putney only realised she was ill when the clot was dangerously large. She was forced to go to hospital after her heart started racing.

Doctors at Chelsea's AMU carried out tests which revealed one lung was completely blocked and the other had a 95 per cent blockage. They carried out treatment to unblock the lungs and Ms Newton made a full recovery.

She said: "I spent two weeks at the unit and the staff were great."

Patients at the unit are all in need of life-saving treatment. Doctors treated 2,221 people last year, with 25 deaths. This compares with 34 deaths out of 2,096 patients the year before.