The death rate of patients admitted to A&E in Nottinghamshire following the closure of one department rose 37%, a Freedom of Information request revealed.
The Mail on Sunday report:
The Mail on Sunday today reveals the first shocking evidence that hospital casualty department closures are costing hundreds of lives.
Official figures uncovered by this newspaper show a 37 per cent rise in death rates for emergency patients from Newark in Nottinghamshire, where the Accident and Emergency unit closed two years ago.
The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, come from the NHS trusts where Newark patients are now sent. They amount to the first authoritative study on what can happen when an A&E shuts.