Burns unit 'as good as world best'

Professor Peter Dziewulski explains the benefits of the new approach

Former soldier designs burns app A major burns unit in Essex has reported dramatic improvements in survival rates, placing it on a par with the best in the world.

The progress, published in the Journal of Trauma, is particularly marked in children and young people.

St Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns in Chelmsford says the figures reflect advances in surgery and intensive care.

The British Burn Association says the findings are "exciting".

The Chelmsford burn service is one of several regional centres across the UK. It treats about three out of four major burns patients requiring intensive care in London and south east England.

An audit of survival rates at the unit going back to the early 1980s has been published in the Journal of Trauma.

The most dramatic progress is in children and young adults. In the 1980s they would typically have had a 50:50 chance of surviving a severe burn across half the body.

Now for children the odds are the same with for those with almost 100% burns.