Tell us a bit about your journey through paediatric critical care
Our daughter was admitted to Gloucester Royal Hospital and spent 1x night there in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) where her breathing became extremely laboured – they pressed their red button and within minutes we counted 25+ people all around our little ones cot. She had to have a breathing tube fitted via a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) and we were then told that she needed specialist care in Bristol and the Wales & West Acute Transport for Children (WATCh) team would be with us to transport her. She was only 9 months at the time, so it was an incredibly scary time.
What really matters to you about your experience?
Knowing that our little one is safe. I remember asking if she would be left on her own at any point and they were so reassuring. They talked us through every step, and we were able to be at her side all the way up until she went onto the Ambulance. They explained what would happen when they arrived at Bristol Children’s Hospital (BCH) and what we needed to do in order to get to her on our arrival . . . everything down to where to park to take as much stress out for us as possible.