Information For Families Leaflet Online

We appreciate that this is an extremely stressful, worrying and upsetting time for you and your family.
We hope this booklet will help to answer some of the many questions about your child’s care and transfer. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a member of the NWTS team.

NWTS is a specialised transport team for critically ill babies and children. We provide mobile Intensive care to critically ill children anywhere in the North West and North Wales regions and transport them from local District General Hospitals to the Royal Manchester Children’s or Alder Hey Children’s Hospitals (Although for some specific medical conditions this may involve other specialised hospitals elsewhere in the UK).

Our transport team is made up of a doctor, nurse and ambulance personnel.
The team has specialist training in the care and transportation of critically ill children.
The doctor and nurse are also senior members of the Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) at either the Royal Manchester or Alder Hey Children’s hospitals.

Your local hospital team will have telephoned NWTS for help with your child’s condition and current treatment. Our team will advise your local team on further treatment strategies and necessary procedures to help stabilise your child. When the NWTS team arrives at your local hospital, we will receive a handover of your child’s care and make a full assessment of them. Whilst working with your local hospital team, we will stabilise your child and devise a treatment plan. And then transport him/her to a PICU where on going treatment can be provided. The team will let you know which PICU your child will be taken to.
At NWTS, we have our own fully equipped ambulances which are specifically designed for the safe transport of children requiring Intensive Care. It is our policy to allow a parent to travel with their child, but sometimes this may not be possible. We will then ask your local hospital to arrange transport.

• Remain seated, wear your seatbelt at all times and do not undo your seatbelt during the journey, unless otherwise instructed by the team
• If you have any medical conditions please inform the team
• You will be introduced to our ambulance team who will be your “Buddy”. They will support you if an emergency occurs and we need to stop the ambulance to treat your child.
• The team will try to keep you updated on your child’s condition throughout the journey, but our main priority is caring for your child.
• The team may have frequent discussions by telephone in the ambulance to update the accepting PICU of your child’s condition.

If you decide to travel independently, please do not follow the NWTS ambulance directly as the ambulance may use lights and sirens to facilitate the journey through heavy traffic.

Address: Eaton Road, West Derby, L12 2AP
Sat Nav address: East Prescot Road L14 5AB
Switchboard: 0151 228 4811—Dial 1 then extension number for either:
PICU Pod 1– 5850 or 2531, Pod 2– 2241 or 2242, Pod 3 2178 or 2520
PHDU—2346
Ward 1c—0151 252 5418 / 5740 (Located on the first floor)

Alder Hey is situated in West Derby, Liverpool, approximately 5 miles east of the city centre, very close to the junction of Queen’s Drive, the A5058 Ring Road and East Prescot Road (A57).
• At the end of M62 motorway filter right (westbound)
• Turn right onto Queens Drive and drive for approximately 1 mile
• At 1st set of traffic lights (opposite the Navigator public house) turn right onto East Prescot Road
• Alder Hey is approximately 0.3miles on your left.
• At the traffic lights turn left and follow the road around to the multi storey car park

Address: Oxford Road, M13 9WL
Located on the first floor of Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Switchboard: 0161 276 1234 / PICU: 0161 701 8000 / PHDU: 0161 701 8200
PICU & PHDU is located on the first floor.
If entering the hospital after 22:00 the Children’s Hospital entrance is closed. To get access, walk round the side of the building to St Marys entrance (you will see blue pillars). Once in the Hospital follow the green signs for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Central Manchester Hospitals are adjacent to Manchester University.
Travelling East on M62 - at Junction 12 continue onto M602 (Manchester/Salford)
• Keep right onto A57 (Regent Road) travelling towards Manchester City Centre.
• Keep right and continue on Mancunian Way (A57 along elevated section)
• In approximately 0.7 miles take slip road for Wilslow A34 - signposted Manchester University the slip road is a very sharp bend and then then left onto Upper Brook Street.
• Continue to follow A34 for approximately 1.1 miles and turn right at 4th set of traffic lights onto Hathersage Road (travelling past a Tesco/petrol station on the left and main hospital on the right)
• At next traffic lights turn right onto Hathersage Road and park in Hathersage Car Park.

Comfort Pack.
We understand that you may not have had an opportunity to get all you need for yourself prior to being transferred, so we will provide you with a ‘comfort pack’ that includes a bottle of water/carton of juice, packet of biscuits and crisps. This is supported by our charity.

On arrival to your designated PICU, the team will transfer your child’s care over to the receiving unit.
Whilst this process takes place the team may ask you to sit in the parents room. Once your child is stable on the PICU monitors and equipment , the PICU nurse will bring you through to see your child.

The Ronald McDonald House provides free 'home away from home' accommodation for families of children being treated at the hospital for as long as the families need it.
The House can accommodate up to four people per room.
Ronald MacDonald House believes that every parent should be able to stay close to their child when they are admitted to hospital.

Money/Bank card
Mobile phone & charger
Toiletries & Hairbrush
Clothes for yourself including nightwear
Socks & underwear for your child including PJ’s/babygrows
Nappies & Dummies
Glasses/Contact lenses
Medication for your child & yourself
Snacks

We welcome any feedback. If English please scan the QR code below and complete the online questionnaire. If this does not load it can be accessed using the Tinyurl (Tinyurl.com/nwtsfeedback2019). If you rather you can post your questionnaire or send feedback to: emma.roach@mft.nhs.uk, info@nwts.nhs.uk or post to NWTS, Newton House, Birchwood Park, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 6FW.

For any other language, please send feedback to:
Emma.roach@mft.nhs.uk or info@nwts.nhs.uk

Thank you

Planning your visit to Alder Hey in the park Children's Hospital.
Various bus services stop within a short walk of the hospital. We recommend using a Mersey travel timetable to plan your route and see how local bus services connect with a service that stops near the hospital.
www.merseytravel.gov.uk

Planning your visit to Manchester Children’s Hospital.
For door-to-door journey planning via public transport, please visit www.traveline-northwest.co.uk
Or alternatively please contact Transport for Greater Manchester on
0871 200 2233

NWTS is a collaborative initiative by the
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
NWTS is funded by
North West Specialist Commissioning Team
NWTS ambulances and their personnel provided by St John Ambulance