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0800: Morning Handover & Team Brief

NEST Consultant, Night team and Day team

  • Any urgent transfers are discussed and prioritised

  • Jobs pending from the previous shift are discussed and triaged

  • The team are briefed on equipment changes, staffing levels, traffic and weather for the shift

  • Regional cot status is reviewed.

0815: Skills and Drills

NEST Consultant, Night team and Day team

A rolling program of competency checks and skills drills

  • We practice clinical skills

  • We test ourselves on emergency treatments

  • We check all our staff are up to date on all our equipment

0830: Checks and Ring around

Day Team

  • All our equipment is checked at least twice a day to ensure that we are always ready and prepared to dispatch a team.

  • The Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (ANNP) or Clinical Fellow call all the units in the region to get an update on cot numbers and check if there are any potential transfers. 

  • Once the equipment is checked and the regional bed status is known the team regroups to make a plan for transfers for the day.

Rest of the day: Transfers

Day Team

  • The team will aim to dispatch early if there are no emergency  transfers to perform all the routine transport work. This might involve moving a baby from one of the Bristol units back to their local unit because their condition has improved and they no longer need specific tertiary level care.  

  • All our moves are planned following discussion with both the referring and receiving hospital to ensure that there is continuity of care.

Red Calls

Day Team

  • At any time the team may get a referral for an unwell infant needing urgent stabilisation and transfer. 

  • Any call involving a sick infant will involve a discussion between senior clinicians in the referring team and the NEST team. Sometimes treatments are suggested that may prevent the need for transfer,

  • In an infant needing transfer urgently the team will dispatch as soon as possible. 

  • The team will normally consist of one of our transport nurses and either an ANNP or a Clinical Fellow. In certain cases the team may be accompanied by one of the NEST Consultants. In either case the NEST Consultant is available 24/7 for advice, or to join team with the patient.

Other duties

Day Team

  • After all transfers the team regroups and debriefs to ensure that we are always giving the best care. 

  • All the kit is checked and the bags restocked after every move. 

  • The team also work towards service development, review any potential issues or equipment changes to ensure we continue to deliver excellent care.

2000: Evening Handover

Night team and Day team

  • Similiar to the morning team brief; transfers are reviewed, the status of the network is discussed and any issues are handed over.

  • Generally routine transfers are not completed overnight as this is very disruptive for families and babies. 

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