Paediatric Critical Care is the provision of close observation, monitoring and therapies to children who are, or have a significant potential to be, physiologically unstable which is beyond the capability of a general paediatric ward. Paediatric Critical Care consists of three levels of care, and the Operational Delivery Network covers all of these:
- Level 1 (L1) critical care (Basic Critical Care)
- Level 2 (L2) critical care (Intermediate Critical Care)
- Level 3 (L3) critical care (Advanced Critical Care – Intensive Care)
The national review of paediatric services delivered by NHS England identified 5 key areas for the 10 Paediatric Critical Care Operational Delivery Networks across England to prioritise:
- Paediatric Intensive Care (Level 3 Paediatric Critical Care)
- Paediatric High Dependency Care (Levels 1 and 2 Paediatric Critical Care)
- Paediatric Critical Care Transport
- Long Term Ventilation
- Paediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
