Paediatric retrievals

The Southampton Oxford Retrieval Service (SORT) is a specialist transport service for critically ill children from birth to 16 years of age. It is based across two sites: Southampton Children’s Hospital (located at University Hospital Southampton) and Oxford University Hospital, and covers the southern central region of England including the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. The two centres have worked together since June 2012 to ensure a 24 hour service. 

An increase in collaborative working and sharing of experiences has served to enhance the service available to children who require stabilisation and transfer to a paediatric intensive care unit in Southampton, Oxford or another specialist units.

Referral of all potential patients is made via a single point of contact based in Southampton with the call taken by a clinician.

Between 450 and 500 critically ill children are transferred each year. Retrieval is mainly by ambulance but we also carry out air retrieval, both fixed wing and rotary. We work in close collaboration with other adjacent paediatric and neonatal intensive care retrieval teams.

Visit the SORT website for more information.