The North West and North Wales paediatric Transport Service (NWTS) is a collaborative venture between Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Alder Hey Children's Hospital and has been commissioned by the Specialist Commissioning Team in the North West to transfer critically ill children from District General Hospitals to one of the two Paediatric Critical Care Units within the North West and North Wales area.

With one phone call to the Freephone Referral Line "08000 84 83 82" a clinician can source clinical advice on the management of a critically ill child, a PICU bed and a transport team as needed. In addition, NWTS Administrators, at the time of referral, can co-ordinate a tele-conference call with relevant specialist team(s) as required, eg Cardiology, Neurosurgery. The Service also provides clinical advice to Medical and Nursing staff on the management of critically sick children before they need Paediatric Critical Care.

Our Freephone Referral Line provides a single point of contact for any medic/advanced practitioner/nurse needing to either transfer a child to Paediatric critical care or needing advice on the care of a critically ill child.

Our teams are available each day of the year. The team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and provides a Specialist Paediatric Critical Care Service, including an advice and triaging facility.

NWTS will transfer infants and children below 16 years of age, including neonates, whose destination is a Paediatric Critical Care Unit.

The Transport Team includes a Doctor/ANP, a retrieval Nurse/s (with relevant paediatric critical care transport experience) and a dedicated Ambulance with driver. A NWTS Consultant is available 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week, and travels with the transport team when needed.

More information about our Service is available in the latest Annual Report.

(This Website is managed and edited by Chris Walker - Lead Nurse & Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Daniel McGrath - Contact Centre Manager)