NISTAR

About the Service

Northern Ireland Specialist Transport and Retrieval (NISTAR) is the joint paediatric and neonatal transfer service for all of Northern Ireland. We aim to give equity of access to all children and babies who require an acute transfer between hospitals as part of their medical care.

The service is hosted by Belfast Trust and made up of two teams, paediatric and neonatal, that share common core structures, including dedicated ambulances and crew. The neonatal team is based in Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital and the paediatric team in PICU in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.

The paediatric team transfers sick children requiring paediatric intensive care (eg ventilation or other critical life support such as intensive cardiovascular support, and non-ventilated babies on prostin) from their hospital of origin to PICU, 24/7.

The neonatal team transfers acutely sick neonates and back transfers between hospitals, 8:00 am-8:00 pm, seven days per week.

How to access the service

Telephone Referral Proforma

To request a transfer please contact the relevant Paediatric or Neonatal team on the following numbers:

Paediatric: contact PICU on (028) 9063 2499 / (028) 9063 3466 to discuss the need for a PICU admission, and to speak to the NISTAR paediatric coordinator.

Neonatal: contact the neonatal coordinator on 07825 147266 after agreeing the transfer with the receiving hospital (8:00 am to 8:00 pm; between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am, please contact the paediatric team as above).

NISTAR will take over all co-ordination from this point – including operational organisation of planned transfers.
The procedure for requesting a transfer is summarised in the flowcharts below:

• Download a Neonatal Critical Transfer Flowchart
• Download a Paediatric Transfers Flowchart
• Complete this form when a transfer is not done by NISTAR

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• Documents for Parents
  • Neonatal Transport Team Parent Information leaflet
  • Paediatric Transport Parent Information leaflet
  • Parent Feedback Form
• Documents for Clinicians
  • Referring Hospital Feedback Form
  • Neonatal Thermoregulation
  • Transwarmer Infant Transport Mattress
  • Assessment Criteria for Possible Therapeutic Hypothermia for HIE
  • Securing endotracheal tubes with tape
  • Nursing Peri Operative Checklist Care Pathway
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Necrotising enterocolitis
  • Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension
  • Severe Sepsis and Septic shock
  • Paediatric Drug Calculator