Saving children’s lives. On the road with the NHS in the south of England

I was in Southampton’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) when the call for help came through.

It was answered by Michael Griksaitis a consultant paediatric Intensivist. He’s seen conditions like this before.

He is the clinical lead for the Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team or SORT which is on call 24 hours a day and supports 27 hospitals across the south of England.

Rex’s mum Natalija said: “He was confused, he just wasn’t quite right and then the seizure happened after that. It was completely out of the blue.”

Dad Matthew added: “It’s just one of abject terror and fear for your own child.”

Michael listens carefully and starts to advise the medics who are caring for Rex.

He thinks he might have sepsis – which can be fatal.