Interhospital transport to paediatric intensive care by specialised staff: experience of the South Thames combined transport service, 1998-2000

Should parents accompany critically ill children during inter-hospital transport?

“…12 13 The South Thames Retrieval Service is one of the largest paediatric retrieval services in the UK, undertaking approximately 600 retrievals per year. 14 A recent postal survey of 233 parents revealed a high degree of satisfaction with the service; however, a recurrent theme that emerged was the level of parental distress as a consequence of separation from their child during the transfer period. 15 In response, a three month pilot was undertaken in October 2002, whereby a parent or carer was offered the opportunity to travel in the ambulance with their child.…”

Early application of generic mortality risk scores in presumed meningococcal disease*

“…All patients were transferred from district hospitals throughout the southeast of England by specialized transfer teams (15,16). Data were collected prospectively as part of a larger study examining generic scoring systems in the general PICU population (12).…”