NEW figures have revealed that children being treated in intensive care at a Hampshire hospital have a better chance of surviving the most serious illnesses and injuries.

Research by the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICAN) has found that youngsters being treated at Southampton Children’s Hospital are more likely to survive than at any other hospital in the country.

All paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) across the UK submit data to thenetwork.

That is then coordinated by the universities of Leeds and Leicester, which then publishes admissions and outcomes stats.

Each hospital receives a score based on how ill patients were and how many survived, with the average score 1.0.

If the number is lower it shows a better than average survival rate.

The research shows that between 2013 to 2015, the paediatric intensive care unit at Southampton Children’s Hospital recorded a rate of 0.68 – the lowest in the country.

During this time, 2,896 patients were treated on PICU with more than 1,000 children retrieved and transported by a specialist team in the dedicated PICU ambulance, which is funded by the charity Friends of PICU.

The unit, which has 14 beds and a 24-hour retrieval team, covers Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Surrey, Berkshire, West Sussex, the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands and other parts of the south.

Dr Iain Macintosh, director of the paediatric intensive care units at the children’s hospital, said the research was a testament to the the quality of staff working in Southampton.

He added: : “From doctors and nurses on the unit and our sister specialties, to the retrieval team and our support services, we have staff at the top of their fields.

“It is a fantastic feeling to know families can take comfort in the fact their children are receiving the best treatment possible which offers the best chance of survival.”