A specialist critical care transport team from Barnsley features in the new TV show Children's Emergency Rescue.

 

The three-part BBC2 series follows the work of the elite flying doctors and nurses of Embrace, a paediatric transport team based at Capitol Business Park, Dodworth.

 

Their job is to transfer sick babies and children to specialist units using mobile intensive care units, planes or helicopters.

 

In the first episode, which aired on Tuesday, baby Jackson from Barnsley who, at 48-hours-old, was in Barnsley's special care baby unit after suffering from frequent seizures.

 

Due to the symptoms he presented with, doctors feared Jackson may have had brain damage.

 

The cameras followed Jackson's journey from Barnsley Hospital to Sheffield's Jessop Hospital where he underwent tests using specialist equipment to find out if he had brain damage.

 

Once doctors in Sheffield discovered the cause of Jackson's seizures were due to meningitis, not brain damage, he was transferred back to Barnsley Hospital's special care baby unit.

 

After three weeks of care in the baby unit, Jackson thankfully, made a full recovery.

 

Embrace, which is funded by Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, handles about 3,500 cases a year.

 

The Barnsley team often has to care for critically ill young patients on the road, with little of the back-up or equipment available in hospitals.

 

Embrace boss Dr Steve Hancock, a critical care consultant, said: "From the outside our vehicles look like a normal 999 ambulance, but inside they're a mobile intensive care unit for premature babies and critically ill children.

 

"If we need to move a child to Newcastle, to London or the Glasgow then we can do that.

 

"It means all the other doctors and nurses in the referring unit can carry on looking after the other patients while we do the transfer and that I think is a real benefit.

 

"The children arrive in a better condition than if it was done by a non-specialist team."

 

The TV team spent six months following Embrace medics to capture the reality of emergency medicine on the road and in the air.

 

Heather McNair, director of nursing and quality at Barnsley Hospital, said: "It is fantastic Barnsley Hospital is being featured on such a high profile programme.

 

"The programme highlights the great work Barnsley Hospital is doing for local people in conjunction with Embrace and other local services."

 

The next hour-long episode of the series, narrated by Fiona Bruce, will be shown on Tuesday at 8pm.