The Critical Care Transport (CCT) team of HKCH is the first designated paediatric patient transport team in Hong Kong. It is responsible for transferring critically ill children and neonates from the intensive care unit of different public hospitals to HKCH for multidisciplinary management. The team welcomed a new "member" – a specially designed transport vehicle which has been in operation since this February.

Dr Winnie Chee, the Consultant in charge of the CCT service emphasized, "As tertiary paediatric services such as oncology, cardiology, nephrology, metabolic medicine, organ transplantation and neonatal surgery are now centralised at HKCH, we must provide an efficient and safe transport service for these patients. Studies have shown that a specialised transport team with a well-defined protocol could effectively reduce serious complications and the need for intervention during transport."

▲Mr Ho Hao-veng, Mr Norman Ho and Mr Adrian Ho (third to fifth from right) of the Ho Kam Yung Foundation and hospital representatives join the ribbon cutting ritual of the CCT vehicle.

A race against time

The CCT team is made up of specially trained doctors and nurses who respond to emergency transport in a timely manner. When a patient transfer request is received, the CCT team will initiate a teleconference with the referring hospital and relevant HKCH teams to discuss the patient's management. Dr Chee highlighted, "We will prepare all the necessary equipment and medications efficiently and board the designated vehicle to go to the referring hospital." Upon arrival, the team will stabilise the patient before connecting him or her to their own medical equipment, and transfer the patient to an ambulance. During the ride to HKCH, they will closely monitor the patient and give necessary management in case of emergency.

▲The CCT team discussing the patient's condition with the relevant teams via teleconference to confirm the inter-hospital transfer logistics.

Designated vehicle powers up transport service

The designated vehicle was procured with the donation from the Ho Kam Yung Foundation. Serving as a mobile ICU, it is loaded with advanced life-saving equipment such as neonatal transport incubator, high-frequency ventilator, nitric oxide machine, infusion pumps and monitors.

▲The heavy incubator can be easily boarded onto and secured in the vehicle with the built-in electric loader.

The vehicle is also used to deliver a recently developed transport communication system. Through an encrypted 5G network, it transmits real-time essential information of the patient such as live footages, heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen level, so that the receiving team at HKCH can provide immediate medical advice. GPS also tracks the patient's current location to facilitate admission preparation. As relevant data is already available in the hospital's clinical information system, treatment can begin as soon as the patient arrives. Accuracy of data entry is also improved.

▲The CCT team makes use of various advanced medical equipment when transferring patients. The 5G communication system transmits real-time footages and clinical data of the patient to facilitate the clinical team at HKCH to provide urgent medical advice and prepare for admission.

Dr Chee proudly commented, "Our team has served more than 600 patients since service commencement in 2019. We are expanding our service hours in phases and hope to be able to provide 24-hour service soon."