News
A message from Andy - September 2025
It is hard to believe another year has come and gone. In 2024 CenTre celebrated 15 years as a service and 1 year in its current location at Castle Donington. Every year the service gets busier and every year the whole team step up and delivers. 2024/25 has been no exception. Over 1500 transfers is an incredible achievement, keeping CenTre as one of the busiest neonatal transport services in the UK. As in previous years the annual report follows a familiar format, providing the data about our service as well as other aspects of the work we do. It shows how well we do with the key performance indicators expected and also highlights from the year. I think a great measure of how a clinical service is performing is the comments received from its users and patients. Yet again in 2024/25 we have had many amazing comments from parents. In addition in 2024 we introduced a process for obtaining feedback from our user units. The response has been fantastic with many positive comments. This is testament to the great team we have in CenTre and I want to thank everyone involved for the hard work and dedication you put in. I count myself fortunate and am extremely proud to call myself the Head of Service for CenTre. I hope readers of this report find it useful as well as informative. As always, if anybody has ideas of how we might improve the annual report for future years please let us know
Staff Awards - June 2025
June saw the introduction of our Miles Above Award. This award
is recognition of appreciation, and for going “Miles above”. The
monthly winners are nominated by their colleagues and any of
the Teams based at Castle Donington are eligible to be nominated
for an award. Stacey Raynor and How Yee Tan were our first to
receive a Miles Award.
CenTre also introduced Monthly Appreciation Awards for our
Team to acknowledge again those that go above and beyond,
particularly those teams that travel particularly long distances
and may have a very late finish. All members of the team are
recognised including our valued SJA crew members. Dave Fox
and Connor Braker were our first winners. There have been
many more since.
Unit Feedback - June 2025
In June we also launched our User Feedback posters with QR codes.
This gives our User units the opportunity to feedback following a transfer. We have received lots of very positive feedback for the Team since the introduction.
CenTre celebrates its 15th Birthday! - April 2025
In April 2025, CenTre Neonatal Transport marked 15 years of service. Since our beginnings in 2010, we have had the privilege of caring for thousands of babies and supporting families during some of their most difficult moments. Over the years, our service has grown and adapted, always striving to improve the way we deliver specialist neonatal transport across the region.
This milestone is a chance to reflect on the dedication of our teams, the support of our partner hospitals, and the trust of families who rely on us. We remain committed to continuing this work with compassion, expertise, and collaboration at the heart of everything we do.
Our new Simbulance bay - March 2025
This year, we introduced a Simbulance, a high-fidelity simulated ambulance, to enhance our transport teams’ training. The Simbulance provides a realistic, immersive environment for practicing critical care scenarios in transit. It improves clinical decision-making, strengthens team communication, and reinforces transport-specific safety protocols. This addition supports hands-on learning, promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensures our teams are better prepared for the challenges of real-world patient transport. This is used in conjunction with our excellent Simulation suite.
Highlighted is a recent visit from the High Sheriff of Leicester who came to visit the Transport Teams.
Parent Information Leaflets - March 2025
To help families better understand what happens during a patient transfer, we have introduced parent information leaflets in 11 languages. These explain the transport process, including the role of our skilled team, the specialised equipment used, and how we keep patients safe during transit. By improving communication and reducing uncertainty, these resources empower families, promote trust, and support equitable care for all.
NTG Conference - November 2024
In November CenTre attended the annual UK National Transport Group Conference in Glasgow. Despite the heavy snow there was a great turnout. Dr Liza Collins and Dr Arthi Lakshmanan entered a poster presentation and Dr Aarti Mistry presented an oral presentation, which CenTre had collaborated on. She won the best oral presentation category! Please see audit and research page for the presentation.
Celebrating 1 Year at Castle Donington - November 2024
This month marks one year since CenTre Neonatal Transport moved into our base at Castle Donington. Over the past twelve months, our teams have adapted exceptionally well to the new environment, embedding themselves into the day-to-day rhythm of the base and embracing the opportunities it has brought. Being alongside our partner transport services has not only strengthened collaboration but also fostered closer working relationships, improving the way we coordinate care across the region. The move has provided a solid foundation for growth and development, enabling us to refine how we work while always keeping the needs of babies and families at the heart of what we do. As we reflect on our first year at Castle Donington, we are proud of how smoothly the transition has gone and grateful to our dedicated staff and partners who have made it possible. We look forward to building on this progress as we continue to provide safe, timely, and compassionate care for the tiniest patients.
UHL Critical Care Call Handling - November 2024
We are pleased to welcome the launch of our new Call Handler service in November 2024. The service transitioned from R L Datix to the Midlands Critical Care Transport Service hosted by UHL on the 1st November 2024. The East Midlands Critical Care Transfer Coordination service (Call Handling) receives and coordinate planned (ie repatriation plus some Out-patient appointments) and unplanned (uplifts and capacity/resource retrievals) transfers. The service is provided 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year for Neonatal (CenTre), Intra-Uterine (IUT), Paediatric (CoMET) and Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Having the call handlers as part of the three transport teams has allowed direct oversight of training, performance standards, and call handling protocols. It has also made it easier to implement quality control measures, make real-time adjustments and allow for better monitoring of performance, feedback, and support staff development. We look forward to continuing to develop the call handling service and the team over the coming months and years
My Kit Check - September 2024
We introduced the Mykitcheck app in September. MyKitCheck is a UK-based digital compliance platform used by hospitals and NHS Trusts to manage routine equipment and safety checks. It replaces paper logs with an online system that: tracks expiry dates, missing items, and overdue checks in real-time. Sends automated alerts for upcoming issues, keeps digital audit trails for inspections and offers customisable checklists for different clinical areas (we use this to check our trollies, kit lists and equipment). It's widely used across the NHS to improve safety, save staff time, and support audit readiness.