Paediatric retrieval service
Our Paediatric Retrieval Service consists of a highly skilled team who have specialist training in the transfer of sick children from other hospitals to the PICU in Southampton. The team comprises a doctor, nurse, technician and ambulance driver. We have a dedicated ambulance fully equipped to provide mobile intensive care facilities to these children.
Direct phone number for all retrieval referrals: 023 8077 5502
Referring medical teams can contact us when they admit a seriously ill child. Calls to the above central phone number allow our PICU consultant to be conferenced in from the start of the referral process. The medical team can provide advice and support to yoiur local hospital team on the management of a child or if the child needs more specialist treatment will activate the retrieval team to transport the child to Southampton.
Download the forms, guidelines and standard operating procedures and a retrieval service guide that can be given to parents.
The retrieval team travel to the referring hospital where they work with your local team to stabilise the child before transfer back to Southampton. Most transfers will take place in our dedicated ambulance but over longer distances we may use aircraft. The team take with them specialist equipment to enable them to provide high quality mobile intensive care to these children throughout the retrieval process.
Currently, approximately 400 children are referred to this service each year of which about half continue to be cared for by their local hospital and half are transported by the retrieval team to Southampton. On occasions we also work with the MOD to provide a similar service to families of MOD personnel stationed overseas.
For more information, please contact:
Or call the team on 023 8120 6972 (non-emergency number).