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Perinatal transport: problems in neonatal intensive care capacity
A B Gill1, L Bottomley, S Chatfield
1Peter Congdon Neonatal Unit, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK. bryan.gill@leedsth.nhs.uk
Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|April 23, 2004
Summary
The Yorkshire perinatal service experienced 800 maternal and neonatal transfers in 2000, indicating a potential capacity issue. This study quantifies these transfers to guide future service improvements.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal care
- Healthcare service analysis
- Neonatal and maternal transport
Background:
- Perinatal transfers are crucial for specialized care.
- Understanding transfer patterns is key to optimizing regional healthcare services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify and characterize perinatal transfers in Yorkshire.
- To identify outcome measures for evaluating service improvements.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from all Yorkshire neonatal and maternity units (May-Nov 2000).
- Analysis included in utero (maternal) and ex utero (neonatal) transfers.
- Categorization by transfer reason, resource needs, and urgency (acute, specialist, non-acute).
Main Results:
- 800 total transfers: 337 in utero, 463 ex utero.
- 306 acute transfers (80% of in utero), 214 specialist, 280 non-acute.
- 17.3% of intensive care transfers were outside normal commissioning boundaries.
Conclusions:
- Significant number of perinatal transfers suggest a lack of regional capacity.
- Findings highlight the need for improved neonatal service capacity and planning.