Enabling Technology and Equipment Advances
Critical Journeys Appeal
Past Appeal
We kitted out four critical care ambulances with the latest, life-saving medical equipment, enabling critically-ill babies and children in the West Midlands to receive faster and more effective care.
Getting to the right place, at the right time, for the right treatment
Over 2,000 babies, children and young people are moved by our Kids Intensive Care and Decision Support Service and Neonatal Transfer Service (KIDS/NTS) every year. The team, which is hosted by out Trust, provides a 24-hour referral, coordination, advice and transport service for critically ill babies and children in the West Midlands.
We have a fleet of four critical care ambulances – run by St John Ambulance – which are stationed at our hospital and our Critical Journeys Appeal helped to fund new state-of-the art-equipment for each. This has removed the need to share equipment between the ambulances, ensuring the KIDS/NTS service can respond to simultaneous demands and improve response time. The ultimate result is better care and outcomes for critically ill babies and children and most importantly, helping to save more lives.
The money raised also funded an upgrade in infrastructure, improving the call centre’s call quality and conference call facilities, helping distraught families over the phone until the KIDS/NTS transfer team arrive. It also supported the team to deliver specialist care with compassion, by providing parents and children with added comforts such as phone chargers, snacks, teddy bears and DVDs as a welcome distraction in their time of need.
We are committed to providing the best service possible for all our sick children and upgrading the equipment and fully kitting out all four ambulances effectively took our service from a gold standard service to platinum, helping us to be response-ready and allowing us to move more patients with the same level of specialist equipment used in specialist care.
