Caring for critically ill children
Our intensive care unit (known as PICU) cares for critically ill children, and provides support to their families.
We're the lead centre for critically ill children for the south Thames region and provide a wide range of services and clinical expertise.
We're also a busy cardiac unit, providing all types of heart surgery (except heart and lung transplants) and a cardiorespiratory centre providing ECMO.
Transporting critically ill children
We help co-ordinate the South Thames Retrieval Service - this specialist ambulance service transports critically ill children from across the south east to intensive care units in London.
The leaflet Transferring your child to a paediatric intensive care unit (PDF 1.15Mb) provides more information.
Help us with research
The PICU team participates in research which aims to improve patient care. We are currently participating in three national studies:
- evaluating a new mode of renal replacement therapy for infants with acute kidney injury
- a study comparing high flow nasal cannula with CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
- oxygen saturation in PICU
We are also involved in local research projects, including:
- evaluating different ways to provide ventilation for infants with bronchiolitis
- investigating the reasons why some children develop inflammation after cardiac surgery
We may invite you to take part in a relevant research study. We will give you information to help you decide whether you would like to take part. If you decide not to participate, it will not affect your child's treatment in any way.
Data collection
It is a national requirement that data on every intensive care admission is shared nationally for audit (PICANet). This information is stored confidentially and children cannot be identified by any of the reports that are produced. If you wish to know more about this data and how it is used then please contact one of the intensive care consultants or research nurses. Additional data is also utilised for ECMO patients in a similar way and shared internationally (ELSO).