Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) has officially launched a Level-3 children’s critical care transport service “SPARROW” in Dimapur.
SPARROW, which stands for Safe Pediatric Acute Response and Retrieval on Wheels, is the first-of-its-kind service in Nagaland, and an initiative of the pediatric critical care unit of CIHSR, an update stated.
It is aimed at carrying out the transfer of critically ill children from PHCs, CHCs, and any healthcare facilities in and around Dimapur to pediatric/ neonatal intensive care unit within Dimapur.
“With one phone call to the front-desk / control room number 03862-242555/ 6009552407 which is available 24/7, a clinician can obtain clinical advice on the management of a critically ill child, and source a PICU/NICU bed and a transport team as needed,” it informed. SPARROW will also provide clinical advice to medical and nursing staff on the management of critically ill children.
SPARROW will transfer infants and children below 16 years of age, including neonates, who require a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The transport team includes a doctor trained to handle critically ill children, a nurse with PICU/NICU experience, and a dedicated ambulance driver.
It may be mentioned that this facility is at present limited to Dimapur and nearby regions such as Chumoukedima and Medziphema. Transfer will be accepted only after a detailed discussion of the case between the referring consultant and the transport consultant, it said.
It went on to add that a transport team may not be immediately available when a current transport is ongoing.Time-critical cases (e.g. head injury, limb ischemia) may have to be transported by the referring team themselves, it added.