10th September 2008
A Bristol-based emergency service that transports sick, newborn
babies between hospitals for specialist care has just completed its
100th emergency retrieval.
Bristols NEST (Newborn Emergency Stabilisation and Transfer)
team is based at the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation
Trusts neonatal intensive care unit at St Michaels Hospital in
Southwell Street. The NEST team responds to emergency calls
regarding sick newborn babies and once they have been stabilised,
transports them promptly and safely between neonatal units and
hospitals across the south-west.
The service is for all newborn babies who need either emergency
or routine transport within the Western Neonatal Network area,
including St Michaels and Southmead hospitals in Bristol; hospitals
in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Swindon, Bath, Taunton, Yeovil and
Weston-super-Mare; and some cases from hospitals in Devon and
Cornwall. It is jointly funded by the Primary Care Trusts within
the Western Neonatal Network and by University Hospitals Bristol
NHS Foundation Trust. The dedicated neonatal ambulance service is
provided by Bristol Ambulance EMS.
NEST has transported more than 230 babies since it was
established in April this year and has just responded to its 100th
emergency referral.
Dr James Tooley, Consultant in Neonatal Medicine for the
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the Lead
Consultant for NEST, says: Before we introduced this service the
arrangements for transferring newborn babies between hospitals were
ad hoc and took up several hours of valuable staff time every day
locating trained staff and ambulance crews to undertake this
work.
The new service is a great improvement because it is a fully
funded, dedicated emergency service and it is therefore much
quicker, safer and more reliable.
The majority of the sick newborn infants are transferred into
one of the two neonatal units in Bristol (St Michaels for
general/cardiac surgery as well as specialist medical care, and
Southmead for Neurosurgery and specialist medical care). Around 30
per cent of the emergency referrals carried out so far were for
newborn babies who needed general surgery. A further 30 per cent of
emergency transports were babies who needed advanced medical
treatment not available in local district general hospitals.
Fifteen per cent of babies were transferred for brain cooling
treatment after birth asphyxia and a further 15 per cent were
transferred for cardiac treatment/operations.
The service also repatriates babies back to their local units
after they have undergone specialist treatment to allow for care
closer to home.
Dr Tooley adds: We have had very positive feedback from parents
and hospital staff across the region. In fact, some parents have
been so grateful for the service that they have donated large sums
of money, which we are delighted to accept into our charitable
foundation. These donations will be used to buy new equipment
for the team.
Ends
Media contact: Adrian Ruck, Media Relations Manager, University
Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust on 0117 342 3751 or adrian.ruck@uhbristol.nhs.uk.
