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. 2022 May;23(2):203-209.
doi: 10.1177/1751143720980270. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

Critical care transfers and COVID-19: Managing capacity challenges through critical care networks

Eleanor Pett  1   2 , Hai Lin Leung  1   3 , Emily Taylor  1   3 , Martin Shao Foong Chong  4 , Teddy Tun Win Hla  4 , Giulia Sartori  4 , Vivian Sathianathan  4 , Tariq Husain  4 , Ganesh Suntharalingam  4 , Alexander Rosenberg  5 , Angela Walsh  1 , Timothy Wigmore  1   2
Affiliations

Critical care transfers and COVID-19: Managing capacity challenges through critical care networks

Eleanor Pett et al. J Intensive Care Soc. 2022 May.

Abstract

The intensive care units in North West London are part of one of the oldest critical care networks in the UK, forming a mature and established strategic alliance to share resources, experience and knowledge for the benefit of its patients. North West London saw an early surge in COVID-19 admissions, which urgently threatened the capacity of some of its intensive care units even before the UK government announced lockdown. The pre-existing relationships and culture within the network allowed its members to unite and work rapidly to develop agile and innovative solutions, protecting any individual unit from becoming overwhelmed, and ultimately protecting its patients. Within a short 50-day period 223 patients were transferred within the network to distribute pressures. This unprecedented number of critical care transfers, combined with the creation of extra capacity and new pathways, allowed the region to continue to offer timely and unrationed access to critical care for all patients who would benefit from admission. This extraordinary response is a testament to the power and benefits of a regionally networked approach to critical care, and the lessons learned may benefit other healthcare providers, managers and policy makers, especially in regions currently facing new outbreaks of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Critical care network; critical care capacity; emergency preparedness; transfer medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Northwick Park Hospital’s daily ICU bed capacity, COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 bed occupancy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Timeline of events in Northwick Park Hospital (above arrow) and UK (below arrow).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Daily admissions to and transfers out from Northwick Park Hospital ICU.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Transfers by location and volume within NWLCCN from 17th March to 6th May 2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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