At present there is one team on-call for NNTP transport at any given time. To ensure that the NNTP is available to those who would best benefit from the service, certain criteria for acceptance to transfer apply.

• Infants must be 0 to 28 days  corrected gestational age* AND weigh less than 5.5 kg                                                                                                                       *Infants born at 37+0 weeks or later are considered full term. In these cases, gestational age correction does not apply 

• Infants for NNTP transports must require ICU/HDU care management by a Neonatal Registrar/Consultant and Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse. 
  Please see BAPM Categories of care for definitions of ICU/HDU care

• Repatriation of patients who still require INTENSIVE care is generally accepted - subject to consultant decision. The NNTP is unable to conduct routine back transfers (repatriations) or routine transfers for investigative procedures.

• The NNTP is not routinely available for repatriations of patients requiring palliative care. Exceptions are subject to direct Consultant to Consultant referral.

• The NNTP cannot be booked in advance but it is reasonable to inform the NNTP team of a possible upcoming transport ahead of bed confirmation. However, as another more urgent transport may occur in the interim, the NNTP team will be unable to guarantee its availability until the receiving hospital bed has been confirmed.

All NNTP TRANSPORTS:

All calls for  NNTP transport are to be handled utilising the 'NNTP Referral Pathway'

• To faciliate a streamlined referral, the referring clinician should have the relevant information to hand, as outlined on the 'NNTP Telephone Referral Template'

• The NNTP is accessed by dialling 0818300188, which now redirects to a dedicated call handling retrieval desk within the National Ambulance Service Control Centre. (New Number = ACCEPT 1800222378)

• The NNTP ‘Hospital On Transport Call Schedule’ and contact phone numbers are still available on this website should they be required .

• (In addition to the NNTP, calls for PICU Referrals (1890213213), the Paediatric (IPATS) and Adult Retrieval Services (MICAS) are also routed to this ACCEPT 1800222378.)

                                    **All calls to this line are recorded for verification purposes**

REFERRAL & TRANSPORT TO NICU:

• The NNTP Team (Transport Consultant, Registrar and Nurse) is connected directly with the referring hospital clinician to discuss/accept the transport when: 
  1. The bed/acceptance for admission is already arranged
  2. A referral and admission to a NICU is sought

• Where a NICU bed is not already sourced, the NNTP team will facilitate/assist in locating one. If there is no preferred hospital, a bed will be sought in the NNTP team's base hospital in the first instance and if none available, in the hospital next on call for NNTP Transport. See NICU bed-state to assist with this.
• Please note that the NNTP has no actual bed management resources and when otherwise engaged, may not always be in a position to assist with NICU bed sourcing

REFERRAL & TRANSPORT  TO PICU (OLCH OR CUH):

In the case of NNTP transports to PICU, calls are  processed utilising the PICU referral process.  The NNTP Team (Transport Consultant, Registrar and Nurse) is then bridged into the call to discuss/ accept the transport with the referring hospital after the PICU bed has been confirmed with the referring hospital.

RETURN, NON NICU/PICU and OVERSEAS TRANSPORTS:

In the case of transports to hospitals of origin, to paediatric hospitals (other than PICU) and other non primary neonatal transports, the bed/acceptance for admission must be arranged prior to the referring hospital being connected with the NNTP team.

TIME CRITICAL/UNSTABLE PATIENTS:

Time critical patients are typically:

• Birth or imminent delivery of a patient < 27 weeks gestation in non-tertiary unit
• Acidotic/unstable infants with suspected duct dependent congenital heart lesion
• Infants requiring therapeutic cooling
• Infants requiring urgent, time critical surgery/surgical care in paediatric tertiary centre (e.g. patients with gastroschisis, tracheo-oesophageal fistula on ventilator, suspected volvulus or diaphragmatic hernia)
• Other critically ill/unstable infants requiring urgent tertiary ICU care

In these cases, please call the NNTP as soon as possible to request transfer. The bed in the receiving NICU/PICU should be requested, however this does not necessarily have to be confirmed prior to NNTP team mobilisation but MUST be finalised prior to leaving the referring hospital with the patient.

Note: it may be appropriate to transport time critical, deteriorating patients using local resources - this is at the discretion of the referring team/consultant. Factors like NNTP availability, severity of illness, distance, local human resources may play role. The NNTP team can assist with the decision.