Establishing a Combined Neonatal and Paediatric Transport System From Scratch

Abstract

Purpose of reviewCentralisation of neonatal and paediatric intensive care over the last 30 years has led to a significant increase in the numbers of newborn babies and children requiring interfacility transport. Many early ad hoc transport teams have evolved into specialised services providing mobile ICUs capable of providing state of the art critical care. This paper focuses on the development of combined neonatal and paediatric transport teams which has been driven by a pragmatic analysis of the benefits flowing from critical mass, economics and clinical cross fertilisation.Recent findingsThere is a growing body of evidence that specialist transport teams have better outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality; however, anecdotal evidence would suggest that the benefits of a combined team are somewhat counterbalanced by the significant challenges of the wide scope of care and logistical complexity.SummaryEstablishing a combined service requires vision, time, hard work and support from the clinical and health care commissioning communities. Success of the project will depend on strong clinical leadership, a dedicated highly skilled group of professionals who share the vision, financial support and a foundation based on quality and safety. Given the high risk nature of the activity, any new service will need to benchmark against recognised standards and key performance metrics to ensure the best care possible is provided to this most vulnerable group of patients.