PICS Standards Appendix 2010

THE PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE SOCIETY
APPENDICES
TO
STANDARDS FOR THE
CARE OF CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN
Version 2
Drawn up by a Multidisciplinary Working Group
June 2010
The Paediatric Intensive Care Society

21, Portland Place
London
W1B 1PY
© June 2010 Paediatric Intensive Care Society
These Standards may be reproduced and used for the purpose of improving the care of critically ill
children in the United Kingdom. Other organisations and individuals wishing to reproduce any part of
the Standards should contact the Paediatric Intensive Care Society.
Whilst the Paediatric Intensive Care Society has taken reasonable steps to ensure that these Standards
are fit for purpose, this is not warranted and the Paediatric Intensive Care Society will not have any
liability to service providers, service commissioner or any other person in the event that the Standards
are not fit for purpose. The provision of services in accordance with these Standards does not
guarantee that the service provider will comply with its legal obligations to any third party, including
the proper discharge of any duty of care, in providing these services.
Review by: June 2015 at the latest
2
LIST OF APPENDICES
1. Levels of Care & Patient Dependency 4
Regional Audit Data Collection (includes Paediatric Critical Care Minimum Dataset - High
2. Dependency Care & Intensive Care) 7
3. Drugs and equipment for resuscitation and stabilisation areas 11
Knowledge & Skills requirements for Nurses caring for Children in DGH HDU & ICU
4. environments 16
5. Paediatric Resuscitation Training & Updating 18
6. Guidelines on Referral to a PICU 19
7. Retrieval: Example of essential referral information 20
8. Retrieval & Transfer: Safety Protocol 21

9. Facilities and support for Families of Critically Ill Children. 23
10. Provision of Play for Children in Hospital 25
11. Design of Paediatric Intensive Care Units 27
12. PICU Medical Workforce Planning 35
13. PICU Nurse Workforce Planning 41
14. PICS Recommendations for PIC Nurse Education Programmes 45
15. PICS Recommendations for Practical Assessment in PIC Nurse Educational Programmes 51
16. Pharmacy Guidelines for Paediatric HDU, General ICU & PICU 53
17. Required PICU Bed numbers 58
18. Bibliography and General Guidance on Services for Children 60
3
Appendix 1
LEVELS OF CARE & PATIENT DEPENDENCY

Paediatric Intensive Care Society (Clinically Based)
Level I (incorporating Dept of Health recommendations, 1996)

High Dependency Care requiring nurse to patient Ratio of 0.5:1 (1:1 if in a Cubicle)
Close monitoring and observation required but not requiring acute mechanical ventilation. Examples
would also include the recently extubated child who is stable and awaiting transfer to a general ward;
the child undergoing close post-operative observation with ECG and pulse oximetry and receiving
oxygen. Children requiring long term chronic ventilation (with tracheostomy) are included in this
category, as are CPAP and non-invasive ventilation.
The dependency of a Level 1 patient increases to Level 2 if the child is nursed in a cubicle.
General Situations:
1. Patients requiring single organ support (excluding advanced respiratory support) – see below.
2. Patients requiring more detailed observation/monitoring than can safely be provided on a
general ward.
3. Patients who no longer need intensive care but are not well enough for a general ward.
4. Post-operative patients who need close monitoring for more than a few hours.
Specific single organ support requiring high dependency care:
1 Basic Respiratory Monitoring and Support
a. The need for more than 40% oxygen via a fixed performance mask.
b. The possibility of progressive deterioration to the point of needing advanced respiratory
support.
c. The need for physiotherapy to clear secretions at least 2-hourly, whether via a
tracheostomy, mini tracheostomy, or in the absence of an artificial airway.
d. Patients recently extubated after a prolonged period of intubation and mechanical
ventilation.
e. The need for CPAP or non-invasive ventilation.
f. Patients who are intubated to protect the airway, but needing no ventilatory support and
who are otherwise stable.
4
Appendix 1 (Continued)
2 Circulatory Support
a. The need for vasoactive drugs to support arterial pressure or cardiac output.
b. Support for circulatory instability due to hypovolaemia from any cause and which is
unresponsive to modest volume replacement.
c. This will include, but not be limited to, post-surgical or gastrointestinal haemorrhage
or haemorrhage related to a coagulopathy.
d. Patients resuscitated following cardiac arrest where intensive or high dependency care
is considered appropriate.
3 Neurological Monitoring and Support
a. Central nervous system depression, from whatever cause, sufficient to prejudice the
airway and protective reflexes.
b. Invasive neurological monitoring.
4 Renal Support
a. The need for acute renal replacement therapy (haemodialysis, haemofiltration or

haemodiafiltration).
Level 2
Intensive Care requiring nurse to patient ratio of 1:1
The child requiring continuous nursing supervision who is usually receiving advanced respiratory
support, i.e intubated and ventilated or receiving BiPAP
Also the unstable non-intubated child, for example some cases with acute upper airway obstruction
who may be receiving nebulised adrenaline.
The dependency of a Level 2 patient increases to Level 3 if nursed in a cubicle.
Level 3
Intensive Care requiring nurse to patient ratio of 1.5:1
The child requiring intensive supervision at all times who needs additional complex therapeutic
procedures and nursing. For example, unstable ventilated children on vasoactive drugs and inotropic
support or with multiple organ failure.
The dependency of a Level 3 patient increases to Level 4 if nursed in a cubicle.
Level 4
Intensive care requiring a nurse to patient ratio of 2:1
Children requiring the most intensive interventions such as particularly unstable patients, Level 3
patients managed in a cubicle, those on ECMO, and children undergoing renal replacement therapy.
5
Health Care Resource Groups
(Department of Health - Accounting Based)
HRG1 – High Dependency (HD1)
HRG2 – High Dependency Adv (HD2)
HRG3 – Intensive Care Basic (IC1)
HRG4 – Intensive Care Basic Enhanced (IC2)
HRG5 – Intensive Care Advanced (IC3)
HRG6 – Intensive Care Adv Enhanced (IC4)
HRG7 – Intensive Care – ECMO / ECLS (IC5)
The derivation of these levels is complex but in graphic form can be accessed at:
http://www.isb.nhs.uk/docs/appendix-c-wp203-s11-hrg-flowchart-v0-9.pdf
Return to List of Appendices
6
REGIONAL AUDIT DATA COLLECTION Appendix 2
Example of Data Collection for monitoring HDU critical care episodes within a Region
incorporating the ‘Paediatric Critical Care Minimum Dataset’
7
HDU EPISODES (Pg. 2) Appendix 2(Continued)
Example of Data Entry for monitoring HDU critical care episodes within a Region
8
ICU EPISODES (PAGE1) Appendix 2(Continued)
Example of Data Entry for monitoring ICU critical care episodes within a Region
9
ICU EPISODES (PAGE 2) Appendix 2(Continued)
Example of Data Entry for monitoring ICU critical care episodes within a Region
incorporating the ‘Paediatric Critical Care Minimum Dataset’ (P2)
10
Appendix 3
DRUGS & EQUIPMENT FOR RESUSCITATION AND

STABILISATION AREAS
Immediate Drug Availability
Adrenaline 1:10,000
Adenosine 3mg/ml
Adrenaline 1:1,000
Aminophylline 25mg/ml
Amiodarone 50mg/ml
Amiodarone 50mg/ml
Antibiotics according to local microbiology protocols
Atracurium 10mg/ml
Atropine sulphate Check Label – variations.
Calcium Gluconate 10% 100mg/ml
Chlorphenamine 10mg/ml
Dextrose 10%
Diazepam inj. 5 mg/ml
Dinoprostone (prostaglandin E2) 1microg/ml
Dobutamine 250mg vials
Dopamine 40mg/ml
Flecanide 10mg/ml
Flumazenil 100mcg/ml
Frusemide 20mg/ml
Hydrocortisone inj
Ketamine 10mg/ml OR 100mg/ml - NB!!
Lidocaine 1% 10mg/ml
11
Appendix 3(Continued)
Lorazepam inj. 4 mg/ml
Mannitol 10% and 20%
Midazolam 5mg/ml (Check Label - variations)
Morphine 10mg/ml
Naloxone 400mcg/ml
Nebulisable beta-agonist (salbutamol or terbutaline) (Various preparations)
Nebulised Budesonide 250 or 500 microg/ml
Noradrenaline 2mg/ml
Neat or dissolved in olive oil. Check

Paraldehyde
Label.
Phenytoin sodium 50mg/ml
Propofol (inj NOT Infusion) 10mg/ml
Propranolol 1mg/ml
Rectal diazepam 5mg and 10mg
Rocuronium 10mg/ml
Salbutamol inj. 500 mcg/ml (Check – variations)
Sodium Bicarbonate 4.2% and 8.4%
Sodium Chloride (HYPERTONIC) 3% or 5% (For raised ICP)
Suxamethonium 100mg/2ml
500mg vials powder (mix with 20ml

Thiopental
water)
Vecuronium 10mg powder (mix with dextrose 5%)
12
Appendix 3 (continued)
Equipment List for ED, HDU & General ICU
General Items In ED In HDU/GICU
Essential Desirable Essential Desirable
Dry White board and markers

 
Advanced Paediatric Life Support algorithms
 
Organized emergency trolley
 
Printed drug doses / tape
 
Weighing scale
 
Heating source (for infant warming)
 
Clock
 
Monitoring Equipment In ED In HD/GICU

ECG monitor & defibrillator

with paediatric paddles  
0–400 joules and hard copy capabilities
Pulse oximeter (adult / paediatric probes)  

Noninvasive blood pressure monitoring
(infant, child, adult cuffs)  
Rectal thermometer probe
(28–42ºC)  
Otoscope, ophthalmoscope, stethoscope  
Cardiopulmonary monitor  
Invasive arterial and central venous pressure
transducers & connections  
Portable capnograph  
Arterial / capillary blood glucose monitor  
Access to blood gas machine  
Access to 12 lead ECG  
13
Airway Control/Ventilation Equipment In ED In HDU/GICU
Bag-valve-mask device: paediatric (500 mL)  

& adult (1000 / 2000 mL) with oxygen
reservoir bags
Infant, child, and adult masks  
Oxygen delivery device with flow meter  
Clear oxygen masks, standard and  
non-rebreathing
(neonatal, infant, child, adult)
Nasal cannulae (infant, child, adult)  
Oral airways (sizes 0–5)  
Suction devices-catheters 6–14 FG Yankauer-tip  
Nasal airways (infant, child, adult)  
Nasogastric tubes (sizes 6-16 fr)  
Laryngoscope handle and blades:  
Macintosh curved 2,3;
Robertshaw/Seward straight 1,2
Endotracheal tubes + tape for securing:  
uncuffed (2.5-5.5), cuffed (3.0-9.0)
Stylets for endotracheal tubes  
(paediatric, adult)
Lubricant, water soluble  
Magill forceps (various sizes)  
Laryngeal masks (size 0–3)  
Tracheal guide  
Tracheostomy tubes (Sizes 3-6mm ID)  
Oxygen blender  
Ventilators (capable down to 5 Kg Infant)  
Chest drain set  
Cricoidotomy set  
14
Vascular Access In ED In HDU/GICU

Butterflies (19–25 gauge)

 
Needles (18–27 gauge)
 
Intraosseous needles
 
Catheters for intravenous lines
(16–24 gauge)
 
IV administration sets and extension tubing
with calibrated chambers
 
Paediatric infusion pumps
 
Syringe drivers
 
I.V. fluids
 
Lumbar puncture set
 
Urinary catheters: Foley 6–14 Fr
 
Fracture immobilisation
 
Cervical Collar (hard) Various Sizes
 
Head blocks & Tape
 
Femur & Pelvic splint
 
Extremity splints
 
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Appendix 4
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIREMENTS FOR NURSES CARING FOR CHILDREN

IN PAEDIATRIC HIGH DEPENDENCY AND DGH INTENSIVE CARE
ENVIRONMENTS
Aim: - The objectives and content of any educational programme should be adapted to meet the needs
of the participants. Its content & emphasis will vary depending on whether the participants are
Registered Children’s Nurses or Registered General Nurses and the environment in which they work
e.g. paediatric high dependency, paediatric ward or general ICU.
The educational programme is designed to equip nurses (and other members of the team) who might
care for critically ill children with the knowledge and skills to do this safely and competently. “Critical
Care” covers both High Dependency and the initiation of Intensive Care.
Method: - Students would be expected to build up a portfolio during such a programme with evidence
of achievement of KSF dimensions. Clinical competency will be assessed by individuals’ workplace
mentors following assessment during and after the programme.
Programme Objectives that relate to Knowledge Skills Framework (KSF):

Dimension Programme indicative content
Communication  Accurate verbal reporting of a child’s condition to other
members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT)
 Communicating potentially distressing news to relatives
Personal and people  Identification of own development needs
development  Development of knowledge and skills relating to critical care
Health, safety and security  Enhanced knowledge of actions during paediatric emergency
situations
Service Improvement  Through development of knowledge, improve services for
critically ill children in own work area
 Reflection on knowledge and skills gained during the programme
Quality  The importance of team working when caring for critically ill
children
 Increased quality in own work due to new knowledge and skills
Equality and diversity  Respond to the needs of children with varying chronic or acute
health issues
Example of how a programme content might link to the specific KSF dimensions:
HWB2  Accurate assessment of the child with Critical Care features
Assessment and care
planning to meet peoples  Ability to plan care around the individual child’s needs
health and well being needs
HWB5  Provision of individualised care to meet the child’s Critical Care
Provision of care to meet needs
health and well-being  Development of interpersonal and communication skills to
needs support and care for children and their relatives.
IK1: Information processing  Accurate charting of observations and fluid status for children in
Critical Care
 Retrieval of patient results such as blood gas analysis
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Suggested Programme Learning Outcomes
At the end of the Programme the student should be able to:

1. Recognise the acutely ill child and relate the child’s condition to anatomical and physiological
changes associated with illness.
2. Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the monitoring required by acutely ill children, and
relate observations and investigations to anatomical and physiological disturbance.
3. Recognise life threatening situations and respond appropriately, acting as a team member during
resuscitation.
4. Assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for children with high dependency needs, taking into
consideration family centred care ’and the psychological and emotional needs of the child and
family’.
5. Have the ability to communicate to members of the multi-disciplinary team issues relating to the
care of high dependency children (this includes verbal and written communication).
6. Demonstrate the knowledge and skills to safely participate in the care of a child requiring intensive
care for a period of time.
7. Contribute to the development of high dependency care by utilising evidence based practice.
SYLLABUS OUTLINE:
Assessment, implementation and evaluation of the care of the acutely ill child
1. Respiratory management to include assessment, pathophysiology of common paediatric
respiratory illnesses, management of the child in respiratory distress and the principles of the
management of the child requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation
2. Cardiovascular assessment and management. Including an overview of congenital heart
disease, the pathophysiology of cardiac dysfunction and the use of vasoactive drugs in acutely
ill children.
3. Neurological management to include neurological assessment of the child, pathophysiology of
neurological dysfunction in children with appropriate therapeutic interventions
4. Metabolic and renal care to include the assessment and management of the child with acute
renal failure and Diabetic Ketoacidosis
5. Pain assessment and management in children.
6. Assessing, planning and implementing family centred care.
7. Recognition and implementation of strategies to assist in managing the emotional and
psychological needs of the child and family.
8. Relevant death, child protection, legal, ethical and policy issues.
9. Basic and advanced paediatric life support.
Decision Making and Change Management

1. Critical evaluation of current practice in light of contemporaneous research with identification
of changes which should be made to practice.
2. Identification of ways in which change may be facilitated in clinical areas and the practitioner’s
role in the change process.
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Appendix 5
PAEDIATRIC RESUSCITATION TRAINING AND UPDATING

PICS does not endorse any particular Course in preference, whether European Paediatric Life
Support (‘EPLS’- UK Resuscitation Council), or the Advanced Life Support Courses (‘APLS’ –
Advanced Life Support Group), though the undoubted value of such courses is recognised.
Paediatric Resuscitation training should be tailored for individuals’ functions and working
environment, taking into account existing background knowledge & skills:
Appropriate Minimum
STAFF GROUP Training
MEDICAL STAFF
Consultant who may be on call for acute paediatrics, ED,
Advanced Life Support
ICU/Anaesthesia or PICU
ST3-8 in acute paediatrics, ED, ICU/Anaesthesia or PICU Advanced Life Support
One day Paediatric Life
ST1-2 in acute paediatrics, ED or ICU/Anaesthesia
Support
Medical staff (all grades) caring for children in settings other than One day Paediatric Life
acute paediatrics and ED Support
NURSING STAFF
Retrieval team Advanced Life Support
Nominated Lead Nurse for an area such as HDU/ICU Advanced Life Support
Senior Nurses on PICU/Theatres & Recovery Advanced Life Support
One-day Paediatric Life
Nurses in Paediatrics, ED, ICU or PICU/Theatres & Recovery
Support
Health care assistants Basic Life Support
NOTES:
1. Updates: Basic Life Support should be updated yearly. Advanced Resuscitation skills should be
refreshed every three/four years. Please also refer to the recommendations of any providing
agencies.
2. The expected level of Advanced Life Support training can be met by courses such as APLS or
EPLS. However, more may be expected from already highly qualified practitioners, so training
should be tailored to the individual and identified by formal yearly Appraisal. For example,
Simulation Training & Clinical Attachments may be required
3. Paediatric Life Support training (Basic or One-day, according to the individual’s role) should be
undertaken within the first 20 days of working with acutely ill children. This training should be
transferable between posts (and Hospitals). Advanced Life Support should be of at least 8
hours duration in total and include both lectures in recognition of ill children and practical skills
training in defibrillation, basic airway management and intraosseous access. Assessment of
competence should be undertaken and evidence of competence should be documented.
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Appendix 6
GUIDELINES ON REFERRAL TO A PICU

The following “procedures” are “critical care dependent” and should be performed in a
paediatric critical care environment.
 Endotracheal intubation,
 Endotracheal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (endotracheal CPAP) (acute and medium
term)
 Artificial/mechanical ventilation (acute and medium term)
 Continuous invasive cardiovascular monitoring (e.g. central venous or arterial line),
 Use of antiarrhythmic, inotropic or vasoactive drug infusions,
 Acute renal support (haemodialysis, haemofiltration, plasmafiltration and peritoneal dialysis),
 Cardioversion or DC countershock,
 Acute or external cardiac pacing,
 Mechanical circulatory support,
 Intracranial pressure monitoring,
 Complex intravenous nutrition and drug scheduling,
 Complex/intravenous anticonvulsant therapy
 Frequent or pressurised infusions of blood products,
 Active or forced diuresis,
 Induced hypothermia,
 Balloon tamponade of oesophageal varices,
 Emergency thoraco- or pericardiocentesis.
Paediatric intensive care admission is mandatory for patients likely to require advanced
respiratory support (i.e. acute or medium term mechanical ventilation) but children should
also be referred to a PICU:
 If it is highly likely that they will need an intensive care dependent procedure.
 Who have symptoms or evidence of shock, respiratory distress or respiratory depression.
 Who have the potential to develop airway compromise.
 Who have an unexplained deteriorating level of consciousness.
 Who have required resuscitation or who are requiring some form of continuing resuscitation.
 Who have received a significant injury.
 After prolonged surgery or any surgical procedure that is medium or high risk or of a specialist
nature, even if this surgery is elective.
 Who have potential or actual severe metabolic derangement, fluid or electrolyte imbalance
 Who have an acute organ (or organ-system) failure.
 Who have established chronic disease (or organ-system failure) and who experience a severe
acute clinical deterioration or secondary failure in another organ-system.
 Who require one to one nursing because of the severity of an acute or acute on chronic illness.
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Appendix 7
EXAMPLE OF ESSENTIAL REFERRAL INFORMATION
Patient Hospital
Name Consultant
D.O.B. Contact tel
Age Contact bleep
Weight Patient location
Brief History
Diagnosis
Reason for referral
Family Situation/Child Protection concerns
Airway Intubated Y N ETT size ETT length
Spontaneous Assisted Rate

Breathing
Fi02 Sa02 PIP PEEP
HR BP Cap refill
Circulation Access Volume Inotropes
given
Neurology GCS Pupils Scan
Time
Blood
pH pCO2 pO2 HCO3 BE Lact
gases
Haematol. Hb WBC Plat INR
Biochem. Gluc Na K Urea Creat
Ca Mg Lactate NH3
Imaging
CXR Other
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Appendix 8
RETRIEVAL & TRANSFER SAFETY PROTOCOL
Breakdown
 In the event of an ambulance breakdown team members should remain in the

ambulance unless unsafe to do so.
 Ensure ambulance staff have contacted base to inform them of the breakdown and
any ensuing problems likely to arise from it.
 Ambulance staff should be asked to contact the police to divert or stop the traffic.
 High visibility jackets should be worn if the team member is required to leave the
ambulance for any reason.
Equipment safety
 All retrieval and ambulance equipment should be stowed and securely restrained
during the transport.
 All retrieval equipment should be serviced yearly by medical physics and battery
integrity confirmed.
Speed
 Lights and sirens should be used with discretion and mainly to expedite the way
through busy traffic.
 The speed limit and traffic lights should be observed unless requested by the team and
agreed by all members travelling in the ambulance.
 It may occasionally be appropriate to use lights and sirens on both outbound and
return journeys.
 In exceptional circumstances it may be felt appropriate to exceed the speed limit but
the reason must be stated and agreed upon by all team members.
Patient Safety
 The vacuum mattress must be securely strapped to the trolley.

 The patient must be securely strapped onto the ‘vacumattress’ or harness if the
mattress is not being used.
 CO2 monitoring and waveform must be displayed on all intubated patients.
 It must be ascertained prior to departure that the oxygen supply is sufficient for the
needs of the journey.
21
Parent Safety
 Parents accompanying their child in the ambulance must wear seatbelts at all times.
 Retrieval & Ambulance Services must make certain that the carriage of parents is
appropriately insured in case of accident & personal injury.
 Parents must be told not to follow the ambulance on the return journey.
 A contact number for parents must be taken prior to departure from the referring
hospital.
 Parents must be provided with the PICU telephone number. The PICU will then be able
to contact the retrieval team on their behalf.
Personal Safety
 Full three point seat belts must be worn at all times.

 If any patient interventions are required the ambulance should be requested to stop.
 Appropriate footwear should be worn on retrieval
 High visibility jackets should be carried and worn at night and if for any reason the
team member has to leave the ambulance.
 A spare 150cm line with a three-way tap should be flushed through and left accessible
throughout the ambulance journey. This will enable team members to bolus
drugs/fluids without removing their seatbelts.
 If staff have been out for a long period of time they must consider whether they are in
a fit condition to drive home. A taxi may be provided for team members if it is felt to
be appropriate.
PICS-ATG Group Review Date 2011

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Appendix 9
FACILITIES & SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN
This list of recommendations represents the gold standard which should be met in Tertiary
Centres containing PICUs. ‘Action for Sick Children’ hopes that all DGHs with a children’s ward
and a High Dependency Unit will strive to meet these quality standards as far as possible.
Facilities
Overnight facilities should be provided for the parent or carer of each child, to include all of
the following:
 Somewhere for them to sit away from the ward.

 A quiet room for use by relatives whose child is critically ill.
 A kitchen, toilet and washing area together with changing facilities for other young
children in the family.
 Provision for breastfeeding mothers.
Parents should not be charged for overnight accommodation. The following choices should be
offered:
 A foldaway bed or pullout chair bed next to the child.

 A bed at “dressing gown” distance (so that the parent can be called quickly but has some
privacy and is more likely to have a good night’s sleep)
 Accommodation away from the ward. This is particularly useful for specialist units where
the children have longer stays. Sometimes it is possible for both parents to stay or for
whole families to come for the weekend when this kind of facility is available.
 Hostels in specialist centres for parents to stay with their children as a preparation for
going home, where complex home care is needed.
Support
A family care nurse should be appointed who would lead a family support service. He or she
would act as a link with the family from admission through to discharge from PICU. Liaison
with the Health Visitor and Community Carers when the child leaves hospital would be an
important part of this role.
A welcome pack with written information about the unit would be helpful. This should include
details about ward routine and the location of facilities within the hospital which the parents
might want to use such as the chapel/prayer room and cafeteria. Some parents will be from a
long way away and may have particular difficulties.
23
Children & families from Minority Communities
The need for link workers, advocates and interpreters to facilitate communication, religious
and cultural understanding between English speaking health care workers and non-English
speaking users has long been recognised. It is not satisfactory to use untrained interpreters,
whether relatives, neighbours or friends since interpreting requires a knowledge of two
languages i.e. that of the health professional and that of the patient. Untrained interpreters
may unwittingly cause distress when they try to save the parents the pain and shock of serious
information by not telling them the whole truth. Parents should be told about the availability
of interpreters on admission.
It would be helpful if the hospital could forge links with the local minority ethnic community,
religious and cultural leaders as well as outreach workers. Staff should be able to provide
contact with local leaders if parents need this.
Costs
The following points should also be borne in mind:
 Car Parking: Special arrangements should be in place for the parents of children who are
critically ill.
 Travel Costs: Transport could be a considerable problem for families when their child is
admitted to a specialist unit outside their home area.
It is very important that parents are able to stay with their child in hospital and to visit as often
as possible. Travel costs to visit children in hospital can be a major problem for some families
and limit how often they can visit.
The NHS Travel Costs Scheme will refund fares of the patient and an escort for a child
attending hospital where the parents are on Income Support or Family Credit but there are no
arrangements to cover the cost of visiting. Visiting parents on Income Support can apply to the
Social Fund but many are refused and offered a loan instead.
Action for Sick Children research has found that many families suffer financial distress as a
result of visiting. Some funding can be provided by the Health Service within ambulance
service contracts. Commissioners need to include the cost of visiting in their contracts for
services with specialist units and arrangements for reimbursement for those in need at the
hospital.
Catering
Kitchen facilities should enable parents to prepare simple meals to help reduce the expense of
buying hospital food. This is also more convenient for those with siblings present. Minimum
provision should include a kettle, microwave, toaster and refrigerator/freezer.
24
Appendix 10
PROVISION OF PLAY SERVICES IN HOSPITAL

Children coping with health care and illness express their feelings and needs differently from
adults, their behaviour may be out of character as they perhaps become withdrawn, lethargic,
clinging or resistant to treatment. Many sick children, certainly those who are critically ill or
injured, are not able to play without skilled adult help.
All paediatric staff can use play in their care of the sick child but the trained play specialist is
able to ensure that appropriate play activities and specialist programmes of care are available
to help the child’s care and recovery.
Children and young people frequently have fears about what might happen to them in
hospital. Play can help reduce anxiety, prepare the child for treatment and procedures, or
provide distraction play during treatment. Children may need post-procedural and
rehabilitation support when critical illness or injury is sudden. Trained play specialists can offer
specialist programmes that address the individual needs of these children offering support
and empowering families to play with children who are critically ill often on intensive care.
The National Service Framework for Children and Young People provides clear guidance on the
provision of play services throughout the NHS. Many previous publications have endorsed the
provision of hospital play services. The 2005/06 Health Care Commission Self Assessment
Framework for Children’s Services includes criteria for auditing hospital play specialists. The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 31 states that signatories shall
“Recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational
activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the
arts.”
The development and implementation of a professional play service when health budgets are
overstretched is often difficult, but should be viewed as vital in meeting the psychological
needs of the sick child. How play services are managed within a hospital will vary with the size
of the paediatric department and the budget available. The recommended level of service
would be a professionally trained play specialist working on every ward and in the emergency
department with their work coordinated by a play services manager who would hold the play
specialist diploma and have additional training in staff management. Often this service is
managed centrally and ward teams and health care professionals will refer children and young
people with specific needs for support. Play provision on the ward and in the ward playroom
should be provided by play assistants, trainee play specialists or nursery nurses. In this case, it
is important that the ward play staff should be given regular training, particularly on the value
of normalising play, developmental play and assessment and the specific needs of babies,
adolescents and children with learning disabilities. Play should be available on the ward and
clinical areas on a daily basis. If nursery nurses are employed on the ward, they should have
protected time for play and should not be expected to juggle their play role with clinical
commitments.
25
Children who are critically ill or injured have specific play and psychological needs that should
be addressed by specialist programmes of care that are vital in meeting their overall holistic
needs and their fundamental right to play.
References
1. Play for Health. Delivering and Auditing Quality in Hospital Play Services.
Judy Walker. The National Association of Hospital Play Staff, 2006.
2. The Facilitating Role of the Play Specialist. Alison Webber.

Paediatric Nursing 12(7) Sept 2000
3. Convention for the Rights of the Child.

United Nations Article 31 (1989).
(Ratified by the UK government in 1991)
Useful addresses
1. National Association of Hospital Play Staff

NAHPS information Officer
C/o Coram Family. Coram Community Campus
49 Mecklenburgh Square. London WC1N 2QA
www.naphs.org.uk
2. Play Therapy Association

PO Box 98
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
HP6 5BL
3. Hospital Play Staff Education Trust

PO Box30
Bramhall
Stockport
SK7 1FR
26
Appendix 11
DESIGN OF PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNITS

General guidance for the design of PICUs can be found in published recommendations by:
The Royal College of Anaesthetists, Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthetic Services
(Critical Care Services), 2009
The Society of Critical Care Medicine, 1988, 1996;
Committee on Hospital Care and Pediatric Section of the Society of Critical Care Medicine,
1993;
Intensive Care Society 1997 (Standards for Intensive Care Units);
Health Building Note 57 (HBN 57).
A more general overview of how to make areas child friendly can be found in:
Friendly healthcare environments for children and young people (NHS Estates 2003)
HBN23 "Hospital accommodation for Children and Young People"
The design should aim to create a critical care environment that allows health care
professionals to practise efficiently and effectively to achieve the best patient outcome. There
are always constraints on money and physical space available and compromises may have to
be made in order to achieve the best use of resources. However all units must comply with all
the relevant building, medical engineering and health and safety regulations which now also
addresses the need for adequate natural light, appropriate areas for the patients family, staff
facilities and adequate storage space.
1. Location
For clinical reasons, there are a number of critical adjacencies for the PICU It must be easily
accessible to elevators and to the departments from which patients are usually admitted these
include:
 High dependency units.
 Operating theatres and recovery suites
 Accident and emergency department
 Imaging department and laboratories
 Cardiac catheterisation laboratory
 Ambulance or helicopter access.
Additionally office accommodation (where staff can deal with administrative tasks and acquire
and collate information about patient care ) should be located within or directly adjacent to
the PICU.
2. Size
The size of each individual PICU will depend on the population it serves and the number of
regional and sub-regional services on site. Factors to be considered include:
 Previously calculated occupancies of ICUs, HDUs and other high care areas.
27
 Surgical specialties serviced, throughput and case mix (e.g. cardiac, neuro-, maxillo-
facial, transplant, emergency, elective, urgent).
 Medical specialties (cardiology, oncology, haematology).
 Regional and subregional services (e. g. ECMO, renal transplant, cardiac surgery,
burns).
 Facilities for long-term ventilator-dependent patients.
 Number of PICU transfers into the unit per year
 Number of PICU admissions refused per year.
 Geographical location – motorways, airports, holiday resort, proximity of other PICUs
 Future developments (redesign or centralisation of services).
There are advantages to adopting a design system that offers the maximum flexibility and
allows step-up and step-down facilities as the patient mix changes. Clinical admission and
discharge criteria can have a significant impact on the number of beds needed.
3. Accommodation
Essential accommodation consists of the patient care areas and management base, reception
area, equipment and consumables storage areas, utility rooms, laboratory, workshop,
cleaner’s room, doctor’s bedroom(s), staff sitting room and kitchen, toilets, showers. Other
accommodation required includes: a seminar room, Audit/Database/Computer room and
offices for medical, nursing and secretarial staff. Facilities should incorporate space for parents
& other carers, siblings, their immediate families. Patient areas and staff rooms should have
access to natural lighting and an outside view.
All units should be capable of providing security for their staff and patients. High levels of
staffing tend to ensure security in the patient area. Other parts of the unit may be more
vulnerable. Security measures include a single entrance, with a variety of locking devices (keys,
codes, cards ) and video surveillance. Separate entrances for hospital staff and the public may
be useful. Local advice should be sought, balancing perceived threat against inconvenience
and possible hazard to patients.
4. Patient care area
The patient area will contain a combination of open-plan areas and isolation cubicles. A
general recommendation is one isolation room for every 2 beds but this will vary considerably
with each institution’s patient mix. It is estimated by the Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention that there will be an increasing demand for isolation facilities in the future. The
ratio of single rooms to open plan beds should be increased but it is acknowledged that
staffing constraints limit the number of single cubicles. New units should currently be planned
using a minimum ratio of one isolation cubicle for every 2-3 beds.
28
The manner in which the beds are grouped is based on the total number of beds and specialty
sub-groups. Duplicate pods of beds may be grouped around a service core. They may function
as one unit or each pod may be designed as a specialty unit. Various physical arrangements
are possible. Rooms arranged along long hallways are the least efficient configuration and
should be avoided. Modified square, triangular or radial plans are often more effective. HBN
57 recommends 26m2 per bed in an open plan and 26m2 per bed for cubicles (+ 6m2 if a
gowning lobby.). In the multi-bed areas, beds should be positioned to maximise patient
privacy. Hand washing facilities should be available for each bed in the open plan areas In view
of the increasing number of surgical interventions that take place at the bed space a surgical
scrub sink should be installed for every 8 beds.(HBN 57, 7.27).
Cubicles should be rectangular (not L-shaped) to maximise space available for therapeutic
interventions. Each cubicle requires hand washing and scrub facilities and should be plumbed
for dialysis. The ability to remove the partitions between adjacent cubicles allows more
efficient use of nursing staff by grouping patients with similar problems into 2 or 3 bed
cubicles if necessary.
A fully equipped resuscitation trolley should be available for every 4-6 beds and a separate
one for a cubicle area. At least one defibrillator with pacing facility will be required for every
10 beds. Special procedure trolleys should be readily available for most common
interventions.
5. Central station
The management base/nurses' station must be sited in such a way that it commands a clear,
unobstructed view of the whole of the main patient area. An L or U shape works well.
Alternately the unit is divided into smaller pods ( 4-5 beds ), each served by a separate work
station. This base serves as the central communications area for all the clinical management of
the patients. Adequate space will be required for staff and equipment. Visual display units and
other equipment should allow an overview of bedside monitor activity, access to the hospital
information system and local area networks. The base will require at least 4 telephone
extensions capable of receiving direct-dial incoming calls. For national calls, no block requiring
switchboard intervention should exist. At least two lines must be able to receive e-mail or fax
transmissions. Telephones fitted with lights rather than bells may significantly reduce noise as
may a glazed partition which allows beds to be visible while decreasing the noise of persistent
formal and informal discussions.
6. Bedside Layouts
A pivotal decision in bedside design is the way equipment, power outlets and gas or vacuum
sources are positioned around the patient. The two main approaches are head wall and free
standing systems. Each can be fixed or moveable, and can be on one or both sides of the
29
patient. An important factor in selecting bedside set-ups for doctors is rapid unobstructed
access to the head of the bed during emergencies. For nursing staff, access to the whole
patient for various aspects of patient care without weaving through tangled monitoring
equipment leads is as important. HBN 57 considers a number of bedhead designs in terms of
ergonomics. Each bedspace should be provided with sufficient electrical outlets, piped oxygen,
air and vacuum outlets. The following list includes the current recommendations per bed (HBN
57 7.19):
 28 single electrical outlets with connection to UPS
 4 outlets for oxygen
 2 low pressure and 2 high pressure vacuum outlets
 2 4Bar and 1 7bar compressed air outlets
 Nitrous Oxide outlet
 Scavenging system
 an examination lamp
 Data sockets for multiparameter monitoring, and PC for Clinical Information System
 TV aerials and radio and telephone sockets
 Emergency bell, Nurse Call
All sockets and service outlets should be distributed on both sides of the bed. It is desirable
that each bedspace be self-contained for basic equipment to allow the nurse to spend the
maximum amount of time with the patient. The charts or Clinical Information System upon
which the patient’s observations are recorded must be located at the bedside. Paperless
recording via visual display units and automated data acquisition require hard copy back up.
7. Storage
Lack of adequate storage facilities is a common design fault in many intensive care units. Good
design should allow optimal use of available space. The best choice for any particular unit will
be determined by local needs and will depend on unit size and patient mix. Future
requirements are difficult to predict, therefore flexibility of design is advantageous.
It is important to first determine which supplies should be stored at the bedside, near the
bedside, elsewhere in the unit or outside the unit. Storage trolleys, shelves, cupboards, and
rooms can be tailored to specific needs. Those supplies used repeatedly and in emergencies
should be readily available and easy to find.
For an 8 bedded unit
Storage should consist of:
 Bulk supplies (21 m2 )
 Clinical Equipment (30 m2)
 X-ray/ imaging equipment area (5m2 )
 Linen Store (4 m2)
 FurnitureStore (15 m2)
 Gas cylinders (4 m2)
 Dirty utility room (18m2 )
 Clean utility room (17m2)
30
 Laboratory (8.5m2 )
 Medical equipment workshop (12 m2 )
 Procedures/treatment room (20m2 )
 Clinical waste disposal area (10m2 )
 Cleaners' room (7m2 )
 Emergency trolley bay (1m2)
The area calculated in HBN 57 for a standard 8 bedded adult intensive care unit with patient
areas, storage and staff and relatives facilities is estimated to be 972m 2. A PICU with the need
for an increased range of equipment to cater for different ages and sizes of children, and an
increased need for parents’ facilities will require a larger area.
8. Staff Accommodation
The area devoted to meeting the needs of staff is often inadequate as space is usually at a
premium and it is tempting to limit the support area in favour of larger patient rooms. Clever
and creative planning of multi-purpose rooms can make it possible for a large space to be
either used for large groups or broken into smaller units. Multipurpose seating, stackable or
folding chairs can increase flexibility. The following are the recommendations of HBN 57 for
staff accommodation in an 8 bedded unit:
STAFF FACILITIES
Office: Clinical director 1 10.5m2
Office: Manager 1 10.5m2
Office: 4 place; clinical staff/IT resource room 1 24.0m2
Office: 2 place; outreach 1 13.0 m2
Office: 2 place; teaching and research staff 1 13.0 m2
Meeting/interview room (6 person) 1 14.0 m2
Staff restroom/dining: 15 place 1 20.0 m2
Staff pantry/beverage area 1 6.0 m2
Staff changing: 20 place 1 11.5 m2
Staff changing: 30 place 1 16.0 m2
Staff shower 4 10.0 m2
Staff WC 4 8.0 m2
Seminar/training room: 20 place 1 37.5 m2
On-call room: Office/bedroom 1 13.0 m2
On-call room: En-suite shower/WC/wash 1 4.0 m2
These areas should be segregated from the relative’s rooms and through routes to the main
ward area. Security precautions are necessary. The changing room requirements may be
modified if the hospital has centralised changing facilities for staff.
31
9. Facilities for relatives (see also Appendix …)
There should be a comfortable environment within the PICU but away from the bedside. The
area should consist of a large communal room (with beverage provision, snacks, TV, telephone
and easy chairs), bedrooms, shower, WC and interview rooms. These facilities should be
adjacent to the reception area and will require an area of approximately 50m 2. The relatives’
facilities should be outside the area of medical and nursing accommodation and should be
sited to prevent relatives from overhearing staff conversations. Items of value (TV, video)
should be securely fixed in place. More extensive parental accommodation should be available
elsewhere in the hospital where parents can stay for more prolonged periods of time if
necessary.
10. Communication Systems
Unit efficiency and patient safety depend on effective communication. Communication

equipment includes computerised information systems, telephones, fax machines, intercoms,
beepers, visual locating systems and pneumatic tubes. New units should be designed to
accommodate future developments in technology. Paperless systems can increase unit
efficiency and quality of care as well as collecting and correlating information for later
assessment. Their use must be associated with patient confidentiality guarantees.
The number of telephones required are:

 The central station should have 4 telephones with direct dial facility for local and
national calls. At least two lines must be able to receive e-mail and fax
transmissions
 1 telephone at each bedside
 1 telephone with direct dial facility in each office
 1 telephone with direct dial facility in doctor’s bedroom/study
 1 telephone with direct dial facility in bereavement/counselling room
 2 extensions with direct dial facility in computer room
 1 telephone and fax facility in workshop
 1 payphone in relatives' sitting room and bedroom
The use of mobile phones should be prohibited within the vicinity of the PICU because stray
electronic signals may interfere with medical equipment. Radiopagers and mobile phones
should be provided for parents and staff. The consultants on-call for PICU and transport
should both be provided with an in-house pager, a long-distance radiopager and a cellphone.
At present, because of communication blackspots and interference with electronic equipment,
the cellphone cannot entirely replace the radiopager. The on-call resident doctor must be
provided with a personnel locator with 2-way communication. This system will also function
as a ‘crash bleep’ and avoid the need to carry multiple pagers. Other doctors will require an in-
house pager. Pagers can also be attached to drug cupboard keys to allow rapid location of the
32
keys in an emergency. All telephones should be equipped with controls that allow the ringers
to be turned down or off when appropriate.
Intercoms may be necessary, depending on the size and design of the unit. High quality
equipment that minimises static and voice distortion should be selected. Each unit should
have a volume and on-off control facility. It is important to consider their location carefully as
they can add significantly to the noise level in a unit.
Pneumatic tubes are getting renewed attention due to improvements in technology. They are
capable of transporting sealed specimens, small supplies, drugs and paperwork quickly and
efficiently. They must be strategically placed and have a good method for announcing the
arrival of incoming tubes. A light system to alert staff of the tube’s arrival is probably superior
to an audible signal which adds to unit noise level. The system should be located away from
patient areas or on-call rooms.
11.Patient Monitoring
Patient monitoring systems will vary according to staff preference and the patient case mix of
each unit. Minimal monitoring standards for ICUs can be found in Guidelines for the Provision
of Anaesthetic Services/Critical Care Services (Royal College of Anaesthetists, 2009 -
http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/docs/GPAS-Critical.pdf), namely:
 Continuous ECG display with heart rate & respiratory rate monitoring
 Continuous monitoring of oxygenation using pulse oximetry or equivalent
 Continuous invasive & non-invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring
 Continuous Central Venous and Pulmonary Artery pressure monitoring. [For PICUs it
suffices that at least three forms of intravascular pressure should be available]
 Continuous monitoring of ventilatory volumes
 Continuous monitoring of inspired oxygen concentration.
 Capnography.
 Continuous monitoring of central temperature. [PICUs generally measure core and
skin.]
 Cardiac output measurement. [PICUs should aim to have some form of cardiac output
measurement available, though it is recognised that this remains technically more
difficult in smaller children.]
Provision should be made in the design of new units for the installation of any likely future
system. All electrical monitoring systems must comply with the electrical safety regulations.
Physiological information derived from monitoring systems should be displayed at each

bedside. Wall or gantry mounted display units are preferable to free-standing units. The VDU
should be readily visible to staff and out of the patient’s line of vision. Slave VDU’s should be
sited at the central station and on-call room. Central hard copy recording, and downloading of
summarised information is advantageous. It is useful to have compatible monitoring
equipment for inter- and intra-hospital transport of patients, theatres and PICU.
33
12. Environment
Improving the patient experience; Friendly healthcare environments for children and young
people (NHS Estates 2003) gives guidance on making the environment friendly, welcoming and
focused on the healthcare needs of children The unit design should create a pleasant, safe
environment that reduces stress for patients, families and staff. Finishes, furnishings, lighting,
heating, ventilation and views to the outside all contribute to creating a healing environment.
Negative influences such as noise, overcrowding, odours, and inadequate heating and
ventilation should be minimised.
Sophisticated computerised systems for variable setting and control of temperature, humidity,
ventilation and lighting are currently available and may be required for care areas likely to be
used for immunosuppressed patients or those with burns.
The concentration of technology, alarms and personnel all contribute to high noise levels in
ICUs. Sleep deprivation is a common finding in ICU patients and may have detrimental effects
on the recovery process. Reducing noise levels may reduce anxiety and stress levels in patients
and staff and reduce sleep deprivation. Much of what is accepted as necessary background
noise is not and can be eliminated. Every effort must be made to minimise noise.
Consideration should be given to minimising noise by the choice of sound absorbing materials,
position of beds, doors, rest rooms, design of alarms and the use of lights on telephones. Each
device at the bedside and in the work areas should be evaluated for its contribution to the
unit’s noise level. The International Noise Council recommends that the noise level in an ICU
should be less than 45dBA in the daytime, 40dBA in the evening, and 20dBA at night (dBA is a
scale that filters out low frequency sounds and is more akin to the human hearing range than
plain dB). Research is in progress on the use of white sound to control environment noise.
13.General Services
All units must comply with relevant building, medical engineering and health and safety
regulations. Detailed structural and ergonomic design information for intensive care units is
included in HBN 57 and Hospital Technical Memoranda (HTM). Fire safety regulations should
comply with the Intensive Care Society’s publication Fire safety in the Intensive Care Unit
(1991) and Standards for Intensive Care Units (199 ). Other sources of information include
HTM 81, 82, 83, 85 and 87. Guidelines on other services: electricity, ventilation, water
supply and plumbing, heating, lighting, vacuum, oxygen, compressed air, anaesthetic gases,
nitric oxide, anaesthetic and toxic gas scavenging systems can also be found in the above
publications.
34
Appendix 12
PICU MEDICAL WORKFORCE PLANNING

CONSULTANTS:
Paediatric intensive care in the UK is extremely labour-intensive at Consultant level and

consultants invariably spend significant amounts time during the night or weekends
performing clinical duties on the PICU alongside their trainees. The need to provide
appropriate continuity of care often leads to many consultants working extended shift
durations.
1. Integral to the “New” Consultant contract (2003) is the explicit description of the
consultants work split into programmed activities (PAs), nominally of 4hrs of Direct
Clinical Care (DCC) or supporting professional activities (SPAs). After 19:00 hrs each PA
comprises 3 hours.
2. DCC is work directly relating to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness and
includes emergency work, ward rounds, multidisciplinary meetings, follow up of patients
and their families and administration directly related to patient care.
3. SPAs are central to the role of a consultant; they include time for patient and service
related correspondence, Service Development, Audit, Guideline writing, Research,
Continued Professional Development, Trainee Education & Appraisal, Medical Student
Teaching and Examinations and work with other Trust specialities and departments,
such as teaching of other professions or professional liaison, and work with External
Agencies such as District General Hospital Staff, Community Services, the Courts and the
Police. This time is additional to time allocated for DCC. The 2003 contract suggests a
typical number of SPAs would be 2.5 per week. This is supported by the Academy of
Royal Colleges. Variance from 2.5 SPAs should be supported by robust reasons and not
simply through ‘short-termism’.
4. There must a named Director of Intensive Care. For PICUs with more than 8 ‘Level 3’
beds, a Director post should be considered whose job plan is committed to patient care
but DCC PA time set aside for this management aspect of the PICU.
a. The director must have sufficient time identified in his contract for
administration. A minimum of 1 PA per week is recommended additional to other
contracted SPAs.
b. There must be appropriate information technology and secretarial support, office
space and equipment. A ratio of at least 1 Secretary to 5 Consultants is
recommended.
c. The lead consultant must have a nominated deputy who has approved training in
intensive care.
35
5. All consultants appointed after 1999 with programmed activities in paediatric intensive
care must have training that has been approved by the ICTPICM or, if trained wholly
outside the UK, retrospective approval gained through Postgraduate Medical Education
& Training Board (PMETB) who will also refer to Royal Colleges.
a. All newly appointed consultants with programmed activities (PAs) in PICM should
have acquired ICTPICM competences or equivalent.
b. All consultants with PICM responsibilities must provide evidence of Continuing
Medical Education in PICM.
6. For the purposes of the new consultant contract, the number of PAs can calculated
following a diary exercise documenting the amount of DCC and SPA activity associated
with running the PICU. As a minimum however:
a. There must be 24-hour cover from a named consultant with approved training in
paediatric intensive care.
b. The maximum number of beds managed by one consultant must be carefully
considered. This would not normally exceed 8 to 10 beds
c. All units must have a minimum of 3 PAs per day of consultant time totally
committed to PICM each week per 8 to 10 Level 3 beds.
d. During the normal working week an increase in the total PAs dedicated to PICUs
with more than 8 to 10 Level 3 beds is strongly recommended.
e. Consultants should not be rostered for any other clinical commitment when
covering the PICU during daytime hours. During daytime hours the consultant in
charge of the PICU should spend the majority of his or her time on the PICU and
must always be immediately available on the PICU.
f. Daytime PAs in PICM at the weekends and on public holidays should be routine
for all PICUs.
g. All consultants providing an ‘on-call’ service to the PICU must have PAs dedicated
to this commitment that equate to the actual workload.
h. Consultants with a daytime commitment to PICM must have a minimum of two
Clinical PAs devoted to PICM; four is desirable.
7. There must be continuity of care in the consultant cover of the PICU; a consultant
managing the unit for a period of several days at a time achieves this best. Where a
group of consultants have significant overlapping commitment to PICU, then a single day
working pattern is acceptable, but adequate time must be provided for a full clinical
handover of patient care.
a. A handover must occur between the consultants in charge of the PICU whenever
there is transfer of responsibility for the unit. Sufficient time must be allowed in
the job plans for an effective handover between consultants. This will depend on
the size of the PICU.
b. All admissions, refused admissions and transfer requests must be discussed with
the duty PICU consultant and a management plan agreed.
36
c. A consultant in PICM must see all patients admitted to the PICU within eight
hours of admission.
The PICU must be covered by consultants at least 10 hours a day. Unlike most other hospital
services, evenings and weekends require similar input, though there is less “elective” activity.
The consultant weekend and out of hours work needs to be calculated from work diaries and
will vary depending on size, activity and complexity of patients. It will also depend on the
presence and abilities of non-career grade medical staff. However, it is usual for the
consultant to be in the Unit for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday. The ‘out of hours’
work at the weekend is of course similar to the weekday commitment.
Units with a transport commitment, more PICU or HDU beds, or less experienced supporting
medical staff would require more PAs based on a diary exercise of actual work. With MMC,
EWTD & now Working Time Regulations (‘WTR’) affecting the background experience of
trainees, it can be expected that busy units may have to have 2 consultants available on a 24
hour basis to ensure adequate cover of these complex and demanding patients.
Weekday work, particularly during ‘normal hours’, needs more medical input due to the
visiting of various specialist teams and ancillary services, but other activities, additional to
direct care of PICU patients, occur on all days and include: production of discharge letters,
accurate PICANet coding, transfers for CT / MRI and other investigations, attending family
counselling meetings, induction for new trainees, attending the Emergency Department,
liaising with DGH colleagues and responding to increasingly frequent requests to review ward
patients, possibly due to the effects of Paediatric Early Warning Systems.
In 1998 the Central Consultants and Specialists Committee of the BMA (CCSC) and the NHS
Executive negotiated derogations to the EC directive on working time (EWTD) for senior
hospital doctors to ensure that the need to provide appropriate continuity of care was
compensated with the provision of compensatory rest when the entitlements under the EWTD
were not taken as prescribed. These derogations apply to consultants, associate specialists,
staff grade doctors, hospital practitioners and clinical assistants but not trainee doctors.
Compensatory rest is allowable under EWTD when the individual has less than 11 hrs
undisturbed rest in a 24 hr period. For the purposes of job planning, it should be assumed that
sleep is always disturbed during the weekend on call period and frequently during the
weekday. Three working 8 hour rest days per 6 week cycle is probably less than full
entitlement based on EWTD. The rest should be taken within a reasonable period and before
returning to work.
Two major rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (known as SiMAP and Jaeger) have
had a significant impact on the application of the Directive. SiMAP defined all time when the
worker was required to be present on site as work and Jaeger confirmed that this was the case
even if the worker was allowed to sleep when their services were not required.
37
PROPOSED MODEL
The following is based upon the diary exercises of Consultants of several PICUs in the UK for
Units who also run their own Retrieval Service.
Category Working PA / week
(Diary Information)
PICU Week 11 hrs = 3PA 15
(0800- 1900)
st
Weekday 1 o/c 2 PA (x4/wk) 8
(1700 – 0800, Mon-Thur)
st
Weekend1 o/c 13 13
(1700 Fri – 1000 Mon)
Weekday 2 PA (x5/wk) 10
Retrieval/Backup Consultant
(0830-1700)
Weekday Night Retrieval/Backup 0.5 PA (x4/wk) 2
(1700- 0800)
Weekend Retrieval/Backup 5 PA 5
(Fri1700 – Mon 0800)
Clinical PICU practice meetings, 1.4
Morbidity Reviews
Clinical & Legal reports, LTV 8
planning/training, Multidisciplinary
clinical planning, Bereavement
counseling and follow-up
PLS training, Simulation 1
TOTAL for UNIT 63.4
NON-CONSULTANT MEDICAL STAFF
1. The numbers of Consultant and junior medical staff dedicated to the unit should
conform to the standards in this document.
2. A medical practitioner of appropriate experience and training must normally be present
on the unit at all times
3. There should be a minimum of two, and preferably three, PICU rounds every day at
which a consultant is present; the only exception is when the round has been specifically
delegated to a senior trainee for training purposes.
38
4. The previous PICS Standards 2001 stated that ”at least two dedicated resident (on-site)
doctors in training who are approved as being appropriately trained to work on the unit.
One of these to be trained and available for retrieval”. At the time of writing these
Standards, a number of external factors are impacting on medical manpower and this
standard may be untenable;
4.1. The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) was fully implemented in August
2009 and is now best characterised as Working Time Regulations (WTR). This
limits the hours worked by employees to an average of 48 hours per week with a
limit of 8 hours worked in every 24 hours for night work7.
4.2. Modernising Medical Careers (MMC 2004) and the fallout following the failure of
the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS 2007) with the subsequent Took
report (Jan 2008). This has led currently to uncertainty about the exact format of
post-graduate training. What seems clear however is that there will be a
decrease in the number of Post Graduate Medical Education and Training
(PGMET) posts as the UK moves to become self sufficient in doctors and aims to
match Certificates of Completion of Training (CCTs) to numbers of specialist posts
expected to be required in each specialty.
4.3. Changes to immigration rules from April 2006 and implemented from Feb 2008
make it harder for doctors outside of the EEC to train in the UK. It may also
become harder to appoint non-EEC applicants to other non-training posts
without first having ascertained that no suitable EEC candidates are appointable.
This legislation is currently being challenged and a House of Lords ruling is
awaited.
4.4. The slow turn around time for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) enhanced
disclosure checks (target 90% within 4 weeks) which can significantly impact on
the start times of non-permanent medical staff who were classically appointed
on six monthly or yearly contracts
4.5. These factors have combined to decrease the availability of career grade medical
staff and have led to a further increase in consultant workload. Staff working in
PICU will need to work in new and innovative ways to continue the work which
was classically carried out by career grade medical staff. Examples include
developing the roles of:
4.5.1. Assistant and Advanced Nurse Practitioners
4.5.2. Pharmacists and Pharmacist assistants
4.5.3. Operating Department assistants
4.5.4. Respiratory Therapists
4.5.5. Dieticians and Nutrition team
5. Consequent to the factors above, it is suggested that at least two dedicated resident (on-
site) doctors in training or equivalent other staff members who are approved as being
appropriately trained to work on the unit. One of these to be trained and available for
retrieval (where the Unit undertakes this rather than a stand-alone Retrieval Service).
39
REFERENCES
1. Modernising Medical Careers The next steps. The future shape of Foundation, Specialist
and General Practice Training Posts. Department of Health 2004.
2. Aspiring to Excellence, Findings and recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into
Modernising Medical Careers led by Professor Sir John Tooke. January 2008. Aldridge
Press, London.
3. Comprehensive Critical Care. A review of Adult critical Care Services Department of
Health, 2000.
4. Quality Critical Care beyond “Comprehensive Critical Care” Critical Care Stakeholder
Forum 2005
5. Standards for Consultant Staffing of Intensive Care Units. Intercollegiate Board of
Training in Intensive Care Medicine, 2006
6. Job planning in intensive care. Implications of the new consultant contract. Intensive
Care Society http://www.ics.ac.uk/icmprof/pubsother.asp?menuid=8 (Accessed 28 May
2009)
7. http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/working_time_directive/general/working_time
_directive_faqs.html
40
Appendix 13
PICU NURSE WORKFORCE PLANNING
Factors affecting Workforce Planning

Agenda for Change
A number of complex algorithms can be adopted to calculate the number of qualified nursing
staff required to staff one occupied critical care bed over the calendar year. Previous
standards have endorsed the benchmark of 6.4 whole time equivalents (WTE) per bed.
The RCN recommends a minimum of 25% uplift to nursing establishments to cover annual
leave, study leave and sick leave (Defining staffing levels for Children’s and Young People’s
Services, Royal College of Nursing, September 2003).
Within Intensive Care environments there are additional specific pressures which also need to
be considered when calculating overall nursing establishments, including;
 Following the introduction of Agenda for Change there were changes to the annual
leave allowances for nursing staff. The nature of critical care nursing attracts more
experienced practitioners who qualify for the higher levels of annual leave and this
must be taken into account when agreeing the number of WTE required per bed.
 The number of beds.
 Geographical layout of the unit.
 Number of single rooms.
 Acuity of patient mix.
The following algorithm sets out one example and is summarised Table 1.
Effect of Annual Leave and Bank Holidays
1Wte = 37.5hrs/week x 52 weeks = 1950 working hours a year

Annual leave = 30 days x 7.5 hrs = 225 hrs (30 days taken as an average allowance)
Bank Holidays (8 days) = 8 x 7.5 = 60 hrs
Total available to work = 1950 hrs less (225 + 60) hrs. = 1665 hrs per year
Therefore, Annual Leave & Bank Holidays accounts for 15% ‘deficit’.
Shifts available = 1665hrs divided by 11.5 hours (most PICU’s nursing staff work long days) =
144.7 Shifts per year
Therefore, the number of qualified nurses required to staff 1 critical care bed over the 24hr
period over 365 days is:
41
2 shifts/24 hrs x 365 days of the year = 730 shifts per bed per year
Divide this by shifts available per WTE = 730/145 = 5.04 WTE per critical care bed
This calculation only allows for annual leave, it does not allow for; study leave, mandatory
and statutory training, maternity, special leave or for a nurse in-charge and/or runners.
Supervising Nurses
The effect of including a nurse in-charge can be expressed as 0.5 WTE. Additionally many
larger units (8 beds plus) or those PICUs with a higher than average acuity of patient mix
require a runner, this has also been calculated as 0.5WTE per bed.
Therefore, 5.04Wte plus 1Wte = 6.04 WTE
Statutory and Mandatory Training
It is necessary to include various forms of ongoing educational activity, Trust Governance

Training & CPD. Study leave, based on the average minimum amount of Mandatory and
Statutory training – 2.5 days each year and Professional leave – 2.5 days each year, equates to
approximately 5% per WTE.
Sickness & Maternity Leave
Research has shown average sickness per WTE over the year appears to be in the region of a
further 5% per WTE. Special Leave i.e. paternity/carers/compassionate equates to a further
1% of the workforce over the year.
Adding this 11% to the 6.04WTE total comes to: 6.04 + 11% = 6.7 nurses per critical care bed.
Recent working from NHS London also adds in a factor of 5% for maternity leave taking the
minimum WTE per bed to 7.01.
This calculation does not include an allowance for special study leave, to undertake intensive
care course and other specialist training e.g. retrieval, ECMO course etc. Neither does it
compensate for new staff who require varying periods of orientation and supervision by a more
experienced practitioner.
In summary the minimum number of qualified nurses required to staff 1 critical care bed is,
therefore, at least 7.01Wte.
Additional Supernumerary Workforce
Any agreed algorithm used to calculate the number of whole time equivalent should not
include; the Senior Nurse/Matron, Research and Audit nurses, Nurse Consultant or any
nursing staff employed in clinical education as their main responsibility.
42
Neither should the figure include ancillary staff e.g. Housekeeper, data clerks etc. and Health
Care Assistants/Nurse Assistants equally should not be used in any calculation.
New emerging roles such as the Associate Practitioner, which may make a valuable
contribution to the totality of the nursing workforce, need to be carefully evaluated. The
responsibility for direct patient care always lies with the Registered Nurse.
Effect of Casemix & Skill Mix
It is difficult to make any recommendations regarding skill mix that meets the needs of all
PICUs. There are numerous factors that influence skill mix; size of unit, geographical location
within the UK, difficulty in recruitment and retention to this exacting speciality and acuity of
patient mix, to name but a few. However, there is agreement that all PICUs should have a
senior and experienced practitioner to co-ordinate and supervise less experienced nurses to
ensure high quality care over the 24 hour period with a Registered Children’s Nurse at Band 7
or above and that all units should be managed overall by a Senior Nurse/Matron, Band 8a or
above. This recognises that that the senior nurse has a complex role managing both
managerial and clinical leadership responsibilities.
See Overleaf for Summarised Example
43
Summary - as worked example (Table 1):
A PICU with 15 beds with nurses working a 2 shift/day roster (each nurse working 3 - 4 days
per week). The mean dependency on the unit is 1.0 nurses per patient per shift and the
average occupancy is 80%. The unit uses nurse runners, that is nurses with no allocated
patient who check drugs and infusions, help set up equipment, assist with more dependent
patients and cover meal breaks.
Row Category Formula Column B

No.
1 Mean dependency (nurse/patient ratio 1:1) 1.0
2 Number of nursing shifts per day 2
3 Number of days worked per nurse per week 3.12
4 Allowance for annual leave 15%, sickness 5%, 26% + 5% (Factor = 1.31) 1.31
study leave 5%, maternity leave 5%, special leave
1% (total 31%)
5 Number of beds in unit 15
6 Number of beds per runner 8
7 Number of WTE bedside nurses/bed B1 x B2 x(7/B3) x B4 5.87
8 Total number of nurses (includes 1 in charge per (B7x B5)+ (B7) + [(B5/B6) x B7] 105
shift and runners)
9 Total number of bedside nurses B7 x B5 88
10 WTE of bedside nurses per bed at capacity B9/B5 5.87
11 Overall number WTE per bed at capacity B8 x B5 7.06
(includes 1 in charge per shift and runners)
Conclusion
It is recommended that a ratio of 7.06 nurses per bed is used to calculate the Nursing
Establishment for PICUs.
References
1. RCN Health Care Service Standards in Caring for Neonates, Children and Young
People, London: Royal College of Nursing, 2010.
2. Defining staffing levels for Children’s and Young People’s Services, Royal College of
Nursing, September 2003
3. The Recruitment and Retention of Staff in Critical Care, Department of Health June
2004
4. NHS London, Paediatric intensive Nurse Care Workforce Planning, 2007
44
Appendix 14
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A NATIONALLY CONSISTENT
PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE EDUCATION PROGRAMME
FOR NURSES
PICS-E
The Paediatric Intensive Care Society – Educators group (PICS-E) was informally
established as a subgroup of PICS in early 2000. It became a formal subgroup of PICS in
Sept 2004. Key objectives of the group are to:
 Promote the highest standards of education in paediatric intensive care units,
 Develop nationally agreed standards for PIC education,
 Share and develop innovation in education and evaluate the outcomes.
Work so far:
 Development of National Standards for Orientation / Development Programmes
for Nurses in PICU (PICS-E 2002).
BACKGROUND
The paediatric critical care workforce has changed considerably over the last 5 years, with
staff shortages necessitating the employment of newly qualified nurses directly into
paediatric intensive care (PIC). The challenge for PIC educators has been, and is, to enable
a more junior workforce to safely and effectively care for level 2, 3 and 4 PIC patients. This
involves increasing the depth of nurses understanding of anatomy and physiology, as well
as developing core intensive care knowledge and skills.
The changing political and consumer expectations of healthcare has placed greater
demands on the healthcare system and this has lead, in some areas, to service delivery
taking precedence over nurse education and training. Addressing educational needs whilst
maintaining service delivery is essential in order to minimise risk and avoid adverse
events.
Additionally, the changing medical education system and European Working Time
Directive has lead to a reduction in the experience of medical doctors working within PIC,
hence the roles and responsibilities of the PIC nursing team are changing.
Currently, there are are a range of paediatric critical care education programmes provided
by higher education institutions in the UK . The programmes range from 20 credits [200
learning hours] to 60 credits [600 learning hours], at Diploma, Degree and Masters level.
This corresponds to 10-40 study days over a 6-9 month period. Note that learning hours
do not equate to taught hours.
45
In summary, the main challenges PIC educators face are:
 The number of ‘taught’ hours in these PIC programs are being continually reduced
by higher education institutions
 Increasing difficulty allowing supernumerary time for these nurses to learn
 Poor depth of basic knowledge in clinical sciences and anatomy and physiology for
both the nursing diplomates and graduates.
 Increasing restrictions placed on PIC educators by working within academic
institutions e.g. assessment times, course leader ability/authority to change
assessment processes.
 Difficulty in marrying the academic and service demands of these programs
PICS-E recommends that a mechanism is designed to promote consistency among PIC

Nursing Education Programmes in the UK.
PICS-E RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME
The main aims of the programme:

At the end of the course the student should be a competent PIC nurse able to manage
without support a level 2 intensive care patient and level 3 or 4 ICU patients with senior
supervision & support.
The graduates from these programs will also be able to:
 Deliver evidence based care to the child and their family
 Communicate effectively with the patient, family and health care team
 Understand the organisational and political context of paediatric critical care
This will translate to improvements in the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) in the
core dimensions of communication, quality, personal & service development. The specific
dimensions of the KSF they will develop to a higher level are:
 Assessing and addressing health needs
 Communication of information & knowledge
 Biomedical investigation & reporting
 Measuring, monitoring and treating physiological conditions through the
application of specific technologies
 Partnership
 Leadership
 Research & development
Specific PIC related skills that should be developed include:

 Advanced resuscitation skills
 Advanced assessment skills (specifically in respiratory assessment),
 Interpersonal and communication skills including specifically how to deliver bad
news
 Improved clinical decision -making processes.
46
Entry requirements:
 Registered nurses intending to develop a career in Paediatric Intensive Care.
 If newly qualified - 18 months PIC experience
 Previous nursing experience – a minimum of 9-months full-time PIC experience
[pro-rata if part time].
 Successful completion of hospital PICU orientation / development programme
[PICS-E Standards for PICU Nursing Orientation Programmes 2002].
Education Programme structure:

 Minimum of academic level 3 (level 6 - QAA - or ‘First Degree level’). Minimum 40-
60 credits.
 View to extend the availability of Masters level modules for graduate nurses.
 Time period - a minimum of 6 months
 Option to complete as stand - alone modules.
THEORETICAL CONTENT OF EDUCATION PROGRAMMES:
Assessment aspects:
Advanced clinical assessment of the critically Ill child including chest auscultation.
Respiratory aspects:
Respiratory anatomy & physiology, respiratory failure and distress, principles and
management strategies for mechanical ventilation + weaning, arterial blood gas (ABG)
analysis, respiratory pathology commonly seen in the PICU, advanced respiratory
therapies, e.g. High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV), Extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation (ECMO), nitric oxide, CXR interpretation, issues in long term ventilation,
physiotherapy in the ICU, Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and tracheostomy care
Cardiovascular monitoring and therapies:

Cardiovascular anatomy & physiology, haemodynamic monitoring, paediatric ECG
interpretation, arrhythmias and pacing, congenital heart disease, & shock. If working in a
cardiac surgical centre all should be covered in more detail including post-operative
surgical management.
Pharmacology:
PICU related pharmacology - inotropes, vasodilators, analgesics, sedatives and muscle
relaxants as well as the impact of age and critical illness on pharmacodynamics and
pharmacokinetics.
Infection & Sepsis

Sepsis, infection, septic shock and Systemic inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) –
pathology, therapies, nursing care and infection control issues.
47
Gastrointestinal aspects:
Gut problems, hepatic failure, nutrition and feeding strategies (enteral & parenteral)
Trauma and retrieval aspects:

Trauma in children, burns, poisoning, near drowning and non-accidental injuries.
Retrieval and transport of the critically ill child
Neurological aspects:
Neurological anatomy& physiology, neurological assessment and coma scoring, common
pathology (trauma, hydrocephalus etc), care of child with raised ICP, paediatric brain stem
death & testing & organ donor management, status epilepticus + (more detail if working
in a neurosurgical centre including post-operative management & ICP monitoring) and
care of external ventricular drains
Advanced Life Support Skills:

Advanced Life support workshop (not necessarily a formal course) – rhythm recognition,
airway management, use of ‘Bag-valve-mask’ (BVM), Basic Life Support (BLS),
defibrillation, vascular access & algorithms.
Renal aspects:
Renal failure – fluid physiology – fluid compartments, osmolality etc, fluid management,
fluid shifts in critical illness, choice of solutions for volume replacement, renal pathology,
therapies, nursing care and renal replacement therapies: PD, CVVH, CVVHD
Pain & sedation management:

Pain & sedation assessment in different aged children, scoring tools, treatment modalities,
evidence base for treatments, withdrawal problems
Evidence based practice in paediatric critical care:

Reviewing and analysing the evidence base for PICU nursing care and multi-disciplinary
therapies.
Professional, ethical & psychosocial issues:

Knowledge management and diagnostic reasoning skills. Communication within the ICU
team. A parent’s perspective of having a child in PICU. Legal & clinical governance issues
related to ICU. Professional issues – advanced practice roles and extended roles. The
political context of PICU. Organisation (centralisation & funding), leadership and
managerial issues linked to PICU. Child protection issues.
Ethics – how to analyse ethical issues, case discussions from practice, withdrawal of
treatment, basic counselling skills for PICU nurses – how to best support parents when
child dies, how people cope with grief, how to break bad news and assessing stress in
families.
48
Other key issues to be addressed:
Metabolic emergencies – especially DKA, neonatal intensive care issues, and oncology
emergencies in PICU.
Care of the child receiving long-term ventilation.
This recommended content for paediatric critical care nursing education programmes is
consistent with key organisations internationally (Australian College of Critical care
Nurses, 1999 & World Federation of Intensive & Critical Care Nurses, 2004)
TEACHING & LEARNING STRATEGIES
These programmes should utilise a broad range of teaching & learning strategies,
incorporating newer technologies where available (e.g. high fidelity clinical simulators).
Problem based teaching & learning techniques could be utilised to develop the student’s
skills in seeking out information, rather than being passive learners. Teaching & Learning
strategies must reflect current clinical practice and be realistic and emphasise reflection
upon and learning from the practice environment.
Assessment strategies
Assessment strategies should reflect both theoretical and practice learning in relation to
paediatric intensive care. A range of assessment strategies should be used including:
Written assignments, student presentations (based on patient cases), objective structured
clinical examinations (OSCEs), poster presentations, critical incident analyses and practice
development projects.
In addition a practice competency document MUST be completed (see the separate

standards on the practice assessment document).
Evaluation of the Programmes

Regular evaluation is needed to ensure the Programme remains responsive to the
changing context of PIC, thus ensuring its relevance. Evaluation strategies in addition to
the academic evaluation should include student/mentor/clinical management perceptions
of the programme, observational studies on practice, patient/user involvement in
evaluation and impact on evidence based care delivery.
Time frame
The group accepts that it may take individuals and institutions some time to achieve all of
the above recommendations given academic regulations at higher education institutions.
49
REFERENCES:
1. Standards for nursing orientation Programmes within Paediatric Intensive Care. A

Report from the Paediatric Intensive Care Society Educators Group (2002).
2. Position Statement on Postgraduate Critical Care Nursing Education. Australian

College of Critical Care Nurses (1999)
3. The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework. Dept of Health (2001)
4. Declaration of Madrid: position statement on the preparation of critical care

nurses (version 2). Williams, G. The World of Critical Care Nursing 3(4). (2004)
50
Appendix 15
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE ASSESSMENT IN

NATIONAL PIC NURSE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
There is currently a marked variation amongst the practice assessment methods and
documentation used within PIC Educational Programmes. These require standardising to
ensure a fair, reliable and valid method of assessment of nursing practice within this
environment. All assessment must be reproducible and universal for the UK.
The following is a suggested competency base assessment framework encompassing key

standards
1. CORE PRACTICE COMPETENCES FOR PICU NURSING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES/MODULES:
The student must be able to demonstrate safe and effective:

 Assessment of the critically ill/injured child
 Hand ventilation (bagging)
 Airway management, endotracheal/tracheostomy care including suctioning
 A detailed knowledge of mechanical ventilation, both invasive and non-invasive and
advanced strategies, e.g. High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation
 Arterial blood gas sampling and analysis
 Cardiac rhythm interpretation
 Haemodynamic & invasive pressure monitoring, (including ICP monitoring)
interpretation and associated haemodynamic management and the justification of
actions
 Chest drain management
 Pain and sedation assessment and management in critically Ill children
 Management of renal support within the PICU – Peritoneal Dialysis and CVVH
 Basic and advanced life support skills
 Promotion of family-centred care in the PICU
 Supporting distressed families and dealing with bereavement within the PICU context
 Communicate effectively with the multi-professional health care team, as well as with
families and children
 Transfer a critically ill child within the hospital environment (e.g. to CT scan) and also to
ward areas.
 Planning nursing care within the framework of PICU
 Knowledge of the evidence base for essential nursing cares: eye care, mouth care,
pressure area care and positioning etc
 Time management when caring for a Level 3/4 intensive care patient
 Reflection upon their practice and recognition of their limitations
51
2. ENSURING CLARITY IN THE WORDING OF COMPETENCES
The level of competency and skills expected needs to be clearly worded to minimise variations
in interpretation by practice mentors.
3. PROVISION OF SUPERNUMERARY TIME WITH THE STUDENT’S PRACTICE MENTOR
In order to facilitate reflection and completion of competencies, there should be a minimum

of 3 supernumerary periods (8 hour shifts or equivalent) provided in the clinical environment.
It is also strongly recommended that the nurse is allowed some time (preferably a week or
more] outside their own practice unit to broaden their PICU experience (especially if they have
only worked on the one ICU – their practice base).
4. IMPLEMENTING MORE LECTURER PRACTITIONER POSTS IN PICU
The use of Lecturer Practitioner posts (or similar) in PICU nursing should be encouraged as
practice developments are rapid and clinical credibility needs to be maintained. These posts
are a 50:50 split between the university and the NHS Trust, and can help reduce the gap
between theory and practice (Leigh et al 2005). If these cannot be implemented then, the full
time lecturer (in PICU) should aim to spend some of their time (ideally 4 -8 hours a week) in
clinical practice.
REFERENCES:
Leigh, Howarth & Devitt. ‘The role of the Lecturer Practitioner: An exploration of stakeholders
and practitioners perspectives.’ Nurse Education In Practice 5(5); 255-316, 2005.
52
Appendix 16
PHARMACY STANDARDS
(Drawn up by the Paediatric Hospitals Chief Pharmacists Group & reproduced here by kind permission)
INTRODUCTION
A report to the Chief Executive of the NHS entitled ‘Paediatric Intensive Care: A Framework for
the Future’ (July 1997) suggests standards which should apply in all hospitals providing
paediatric intensive care and describes an organisational framework for a unified service. The
report does not contain standards for the quantity or quality of the services provided or for
the training, skills and competence of paediatric intensive care pharmacist practitioners.
This report has been prepared by the Paediatric Hospitals Chief Pharmacists Group in
consultation with the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group and documents the
standards of pharmaceutical care required and relates them to the requirements set out in the
framework document. Like the framework document it does not address standards in
designated neonatal intensive care or special care baby units.
PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES
1. PICU CENTRE
(providing level 2 and 3 care, expert retrieval service for critically ill patients and supporting all
intensive care across a geographical area)
a) A lead advanced clinical paediatric pharmacist with approved training and experience in
paediatric intensive care with sufficient clinical paediatric pharmacists, trained in
paediatric intensive care, to provide daily input equivalent to 0.07 to 0.1 WTE for each
single level 2 or 3 intensive care bed to allow .
i. Clinical input to each patient and attendance at appropriate ward rounds
ii. Pharmaceutical collaboration with the Pathology Laboratory to provide timely

drug level monitoring, interpretation and advice
iii. Pharmaceutical lead or input to drug-related policies, protocols and guidelines
iv. Sufficient resources available for the continuing education of pharmacy

practitioners providing the service
v. Sufficient pharmacist time for education of medical, nursing and pharmacy staff
at the
vi. lead centre and associated units
53
vii. Sufficient pharmacist time for conduct of and input to pharmacy practice and
drug-related research and audit
viii.Review of medication error and adverse drug reaction reporting
ix. Provision of advice to specialist pharmacists in major acute general hospitals

and specialist units within the geographical area who are providing intensive
care and to district general hospitals providing high dependency or initiating
intensive care.
b. In addition the PICU pharmacist should provide or enable access to
i. Expertise in neonatal and paediatric parenteral nutrition
ii. Aseptic preparation service for all parenteral nutrition and the majority of
intravenous injections and infusions
iii. Medicines information services with experience in the problems of paediatric

intensive care
iv. An on-call service for the supply of urgent medication, information and advice
(? Should this be a paediatric pharmacist!!)
v. An efficient drug supply service which includes drugs for resuscitation and an
agreed, comprehensive range of drugs in suitable packaging to support the
retrieval service.
Appropriate ward cover should be provided when lead practitioner on leave by a specialist
paediatric pharmacist.
2. SPECIALIST UNITS
(Providing intensive care for children in support of individual specialties (eg. burns, cardiac,
neurosurgery)
a. A specialist paediatric pharmacist with approved training and experience in paediatric

intensive care
b. Review of pharmaceutical care at appropriate intervals by pharmacists with training in

intensive care and paediatric pharmacy
c. Access to advice from an advanced clinical paediatric pharmacist at a lead centre and to a
medicines information service with experience in the problems of paediatric intensive care
d. Access to a pharmacist experienced in paediatric parenteral nutrition
54
e. Provision of an aseptic preparation service for all parenteral nutrition and the majority of
intravenous injections and infusions
f. Provision of an efficient drug supply service which includes drugs for resuscitation
g. Pharmaceutical input to drug-related policies, protocols and guidelines
h. Medication error and adverse drug reaction reporting and review systems
3. DISTRICT GENERAL HOSPITALS

(Providing high dependency care and general intensive care to which children are admitted for
stabilisation prior to Retrieval)
a. Review of pharmaceutical care at appropriate intervals by specialist pharmacists with

training and experience in intensive care and paediatric pharmacy
b. Pharmaceutical input to drug-related policies, protocols and guidelines from a pharmacist

with training in paediatric pharmacy, developed in conjunction with the lead centre
c. Access to advice from an advanced clinical paediatric intensive care pharmacist at a lead
centre
55
TRAINING OF PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE PHARMACISTS
Paediatric Intensive Care pharmacists will have received core training in clinical pharmacy and
paediatric pharmacy practice. In addition they require at least the following knowledge, skills and
competence.
1. Knowledge base
Specialist Pharmacist Advanced clinical

(Specialist centre with areas pharmacist
relevant to specialty e.g. burns) (in PICU centre)
Drug handling in paediatrics and critical care  
Haemodynamic and physiological monitoring  
Intravenous therapy  
(Venous access and influence on drug therapy;
methods of drug administration, central v peripheral;
compatibility problems; equipment)
Resuscitation therapy  
Sedation and analgesia  
(Selection, optimal use, weaning, side effects, monitoring)
Cardiovascular support  
(Inotropes, vasodilators, diuretics)
Organ failure
Effect on drug disposition management 
Renal replacement therapy and effects on drug 
handling
ECMO – basic knowledge, advanced in specialist 
centres
Fluid and electrolytes  

(Fluid types and selection, acid-base balance, monitoring)
Haematology 
Parenteral nutrition 
General ‘therapy areas’  
Convulsions
Severe asthma
Severe infection
Respiratory failure
Shock
CPR
Trauma and head injury
Specific therapy areas 

Bronchiolitis
Inborn errors
Cardiac surgery
Transplantation
Burns
Cardiology
Diabetes insipidus and SIADH
Nitric oxide administration and management
Neurosurgery
56
2. Skills and competences
Advanced clinical paediatric pharmacists should be assessed as competent at Master or Expert

level for clinical pharmacy practice in paediatric critical care.
Specialist paediatric pharmacists should be assessed as competent at Foundation level for

clinical pharmacy practice in paediatric critical care.
These will include competencies concerning:
 Prescription monitoring
 Optimisation of drug therapy in the critically ill
Individual patient care
Guidelines
 Therapeutic drug level monitoring
 Nutrition
 Pharmaceutical optimisation of intravenous therapy
 Adverse drug reaction prevention, treatment, monitoring and reporting
 Medication error potential analysis
 Drug interaction prevention
 Provision of drug information
 Communication with health care professionals
 Pharmaceutical care prioritisation and planning
 Teaching skills
 Report writing and publication
Approval
These standards have been reviewed and approved by the SIG and executive committee of
NPPG and by PHCPG.
Abbreviations:-
NPPG Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (of UK and Eire)

PHCPG Paediatric Hospitals Chief Pharmacists Group (Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Liverpool, London (GOS), Manchester, Sheffield)
SIG Special Interest Group in Paediatric Intensive Care of the NPPG
December 2000
57
Appendix 17
REQUIRED PICU BED NUMBERS

In the absence of a geographic imperative, a paediatric intensive care service should ideally be
planned around one Lead Centre per million children in the resident population. Admissions
can be expected in the range of 1.2 per annum per 1000 children in the population and the
average length of stay in British PICUs is about 4 days. This would make an average Lead
Centre activity of 1200 admissions per year. To function at 1 bed per 48,000 children means
PICUs of 20 beds in size with about 60 admissions per bed per year. Few PICUs in the UK
function at this level of efficiency and to do so requires:
· Open access to all the intensive care beds for all patients (from whatever specialty) on the
basis of need and order of presentation.
· strict limits on level I activity within the PICU
· the ability to provide level I care outside the PICU (as is common in children’s hospitals)
· no bed congestion in the step-down wards
The number of PICU beds required for a given population has been modelled in more detail by
Milne et al (1994) by approximation to a Poisson distribution. Thus the number of beds
necessary to satisfy demand 95% of the time = X + 1.64X
Where X =
(No of children in the population) x (rate of demand p.a.) x (mean length of stay)
365 x %occupancy
To use this model if more than one unit is envisaged, the population should be regarded as
being divided in a ratio matched by the relative size of each unit. In the worked examples
below, the provision for a population of 1 million children can be seen to be provided 95% of
the time by four average performing, eight bedded PICUs or one peak performing, 14 bedded
PICU situated in a large children’s hospital.
Planning to provide cover for 95% of demand is however insufficient since it means that 1 in
20 referrals cannot be accommodated and statistically such instances are likely to cluster
during times of peak demand. Significant case mix fluctuations occur throughout the year.
Trauma is more common during school holidays and particularly the summer months. Medical
admissions and respiratory complications are more common in the winter months leading to a
seasonal increase in the average length of stay. A service designed to provide sufficient
capacity 95% of the time will particularly fail in the winter months. One way to alleviate the
problem is to plan to run the PICUs at a lower average occupancy than the 80% level used in
the calculations below. This leads to higher calculated bed requirement and an increased
ability to accommodate peaks in demand.
When services are divided into more than one PICU the overall number of beds required are
increased, the infrastructure is duplicated, the costs rise dramatically and the service is likely
to become both less efficient and less effective.
58
Worked example:
If one uses the model to determine the required numbers of beds for centralised and
decentralised systems assuming that both use beds as efficiently as each other then:
A population of 1 million children served by 4 PICUs with an average length of stay of 4 days
(assuming 80% occupancy) requires each PICU to have:
(250 x 1.2 x 4)/(365 x 0.8) = 4.1 beds to satisfy demand 50% of the time
and
4.1 + (1.64 x 4.1) = 7.4 ie 8 beds
 To satisfy demand 95% of the time = a total of 32 beds
A single ICU to serve the same population would require:
(1000 x 1.2 x 4) / (365 x 0.8) = 16.44 beds to satisfy demand 50% of the time
and
16.44 +1.64 x 16.44 = 23.01 i.e. 24 beds to satisfy demand 95% of the time
However the increased efficiency of a centralised system with a PICU in a specialist centre
involves a shorter length of stay. If we repeat the model and calculate the requirement taking
this into account (lengths of stay taken from Lancet 1997 349: 1213 – 1217):
A population of 1 million children served by one PICU with an average length of stay of 2.1
days rather than 4 requires the PICU (assuming 80% occupancy) to have:
(1000 x 1.2 x 2.1) ÷ (365 x 0.8) = 8.63 beds to satisfy demand 50% of the time
and
8.63 + 1.64 x 8.63 = 13.4 i.e. 14 beds to satisfy demand 95% of the time
59
Appendix 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY & GENERAL GUIDANCE ON CHILDREN’S SERVICES
1. Children Act 1989, HMSO
2. The Children Act 1989 – an Introductory Guide, Department of Health.
3. The NHS and Community Care Act 1990, HMSO
4. United Nations Organisation, “The UN Convention on the Right of the Child” 1992. (CM1976)
HMSO.
5. “The Allitt Inquiry” (The Clothier Report).HMSO 1994 and subsequent guidance DGM(94)26
6. Emergency Health Services for Children and Young People. Action for Sick Children 1997
7. Paediatric Intensive Care - “A Bridge to the Future”. NHSE 1997
8. Paediatric Intensive Care - “Framework for the Future”. NHSE 1997
9. Working Together to Safeguard Children. Department of Health 1999
10. AL(MD) 6/98: Working Time Directive agreement for career grade doctors. Advance Letter
(Medical & Dental). Department of Health Nov. 1998.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAndCirculars/AdvancedLetters/DH_4
003839
11. Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. DoH, Dept of Education &
Employment and Home Office, 2000
12. Paediatric Intensive Care Society Standards Document. Paediatric Intensive Care Society, 2001
13. Report of the Consent Working Party. BMA, March 2001.
14. Learning from Bristol: The Department of Health’s Response to the Report of the Public Inquiry
into children’s heart surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary 1984 – 1995. Department of Health.
2002.
15. Standards for Bereavement Care. Paediatric Intensive Care Society, 2002.
16. Getting the right start: National Service Framework for Children. Standard for Hospital Services.
Department of Health. 2003.
18. National Service Framework for Children. Emerging Findings. Department of Health. 2003.
60
19. National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Department of
Health. Department for Education and Skills, 2004
20. Children’s National Service Framework for Wales. Acute and Chronic Illness or Injury. Welsh
Assembly, 2005.
21. Emergency Care Framework for Children & Young People in Scotland. Scottish Executive, 2006.
22. The acutely or critically sick or injured child in the district general hospital. A team response.
London: Department of Health, 2006. (‘Tanner Report’).
23. 0 - 18 Years: Guidance for all Doctors, General Medical Council, 2007
24. Direction of Travel for Urgent Care: Response from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child
Health, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2007
25. Improving Services for Children in Hospital, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection,
2007
26. Modelling the Future: A consultation paper on the future of children’s health services, Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2007
27. Services for Children in Emergency Departments: Report of the Intercollegiate Committee for
Services for Children in Emergency Departments. Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health,
April 2007
28. Statement on the Future Provision of General Paediatric Surgery in the District General Hospital,
Children’s Surgical Forum, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Association of Paediatric
Anaesthetists, the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the British Association of
Paediatric Surgeons, Specialist Advisory Committee in General Surgery, Specialist Advisory
Committee in Paediatric Surgery, Royal College of Anaesthetists, British Association of Urological
Surgeons, 2007
29. Surgery for Children - Delivering a First Class Service: Report of the Children’s Surgical Forum July
2007; http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/publications/docs/CSF.html
30. Services for Children in Emergency Departments: Report of the Intercollegiate Committee for
Services for Children in Emergency Departments, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health,
2007
31. Supporting Paediatric Reconfiguration: A Framework for Standards, Royal College of Paediatrics
and Child Health, 2008
61
32. Commissioning Safe & Sustainable Specialised Paediatric Services - a Framework of Critical
Interdependencies, Department of Health, London, Aug 2008
33. The Role of the Consultant Paediatrician with Subspecialty Training in Paediatric Emergency
Medicine, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2008
34. Why Children Die: A Pilot Study 2006, CEMACH, 2008
35. Guidelines for the Provision of Anaesthetic Services (Paediatric Anaesthesia & Critical Care
Services Sections), The Royal College of Anaesthetists, 2009
http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/index.asp?PageID=477
36. Healthy lives, brighter future: The strategy for children and young people’s health, Department
for Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2009
37. Improving services for children in hospital: Report of the follow-up to the 2005/06 review,
Healthcare Commission, 2009
38. RCPCH guidance on the role of the consultant paediatrician in providing acute care in hospital,
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2009
39. Short Stay Paediatric Assessment Units: Advice for Commissioners and Providers, Royal College
of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2009
40. A Review of Safeguards and Standards of Care” Hospital Advisory Service. WHC (99) 2 [The
Secretary of State’s letter contains action for all hospitals admitting children.]
41. The Intercollegiate Committee for Training in Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine ICTPICM).
http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/index.asp?PageID=37
42. The Southwest Audit of Critically Ill Children (SWACIC).

http://nww.swretrieval.nhs.uk/ or http://www.picanet.org.uk/
43. Working Time Directive. (Includes information on ‘Derogation’ and 26 week reference periods.)
http://www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/workingtimedirective.html
62

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THE PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE SOCIETY

The Paediatric Intensive Care Society

Review by: June 2015 at the latest

3. Drugs and equipment for resuscitation and stabilisation areas 11

5. Paediatric Resuscitation Training & Updating 18

6. Guidelines on Referral to a PICU 19

7. Retrieval: Example of essential referral information 20

8. Retrieval & Transfer: Safety Protocol 21

14. PICS Recommendations for PIC Nurse Education Programmes 45

17. Required PICU Bed numbers 58

18. Bibliography and General Guidance on Services for Children 60

LEVELS OF CARE & PATIENT DEPENDENCY

Level I (incorporating Dept of Health recommendations, 1996)

Specific single organ support requiring high dependency care:

1 Basic Respiratory Monitoring and Support

3 Neurological Monitoring and Support

a. The need for acute renal replacement therapy (haemodialysis, haemofiltration or

HRG1 – High Dependency (HD1)

HRG2 – High Dependency Adv (HD2)

HRG3 – Intensive Care Basic (IC1)

HRG4 – Intensive Care Basic Enhanced (IC2)

HRG5 – Intensive Care Advanced (IC3)

HRG6 – Intensive Care Adv Enhanced (IC4)

HRG7 – Intensive Care – ECMO / ECLS (IC5)

Return to List of Appendices

DRUGS & EQUIPMENT FOR RESUSCITATION AND

Antibiotics according to local microbiology protocols

Atropine sulphate Check Label – variations.

Calcium Gluconate 10% 100mg/ml

Diazepam inj. 5 mg/ml

Dinoprostone (prostaglandin E2) 1microg/ml

Dobutamine 250mg vials

Ketamine 10mg/ml OR 100mg/ml - NB!!

Lorazepam inj. 4 mg/ml

Mannitol 10% and 20%

Midazolam 5mg/ml (Check Label - variations)

Nebulisable beta-agonist (salbutamol or terbutaline) (Various preparations)

Nebulised Budesonide 250 or 500 microg/ml

Neat or dissolved in olive oil. Check

Phenytoin sodium 50mg/ml

Propofol (inj NOT Infusion) 10mg/ml

Rectal diazepam 5mg and 10mg

Salbutamol inj. 500 mcg/ml (Check – variations)

Sodium Bicarbonate 4.2% and 8.4%

Sodium Chloride (HYPERTONIC) 3% or 5% (For raised ICP)

500mg vials powder (mix with 20ml

Vecuronium 10mg powder (mix with dextrose 5%)

Dry White board and markers

Monitoring Equipment In ED In HD/GICU

ECG monitor & defibrillator

Pulse oximeter (adult / paediatric probes)  

Bag-valve-mask device: paediatric (500 mL)  

Vascular Access In ED In HDU/GICU

Butterflies (19–25 gauge)

Return to List of Appendices

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS REQUIREMENTS FOR NURSES CARING FOR CHILDREN

Programme Objectives that relate to Knowledge Skills Framework (KSF):

At the end of the Programme the student should be able to:

Decision Making and Change Management