Description of service
The regional centre for intensive care for children ranging in
age from term newborn infants to 16 years of age across all
subspecialties for the South West of England (Gloucestershire,
Wiltshire, former Avon area, Somerset, Devon & Cornwall);
paediatric cardiac intensive care for children from South Wales. A
retrieval service run from the intensive care unit is also
available to transfer critically ill children to the unit from
across South West England. Critically ill children in South Wales
with a cardiac diagnosis are also collected and transferred to
Bristol by the retrieval service.
Areas of Excellence
Paediatric and cardiac critical care.
Conditions Treated
All clinical conditions in children requiring intensive care
support, including children being treated by the following
paediatric subspecialties:
- cardiology,
- cardiac surgery,
- respiratory,
- neurology,
- neurosurgery,
- haematology/oncology & bone marrow transplant,
- endocrinology & metabolic medicine, nephrology including
renal transplantation,
- gastroenterology,
- infectious diseases,
- general surgery,
- ENT surgery,
- trauma & orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery &
burns.
- neonatal surgery
Treatments Offered
- Invasive ventilation via endotracheal tube; both conventional
& high-frequency ventilation available
- Non-invasive ventilation via mask or nasal prongs
- Inhaled nitric oxide for pulmonary hypertension
- Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) to provide cardiac
support via modified cardiac bypass for post-operative cardiac
surgical children
- Intracranial pressure monitoring
- Continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring
- Renal support by peritoneal dialysis or
haemofiltration/haemodialysis
General Contact Details
Unit direct line: 0117 342 8546.
