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Paediatric and neonatal intensive care admission criteria

This is a list of patient diagnoses which are admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) paediatric and neonatal intensive care units, the timeframe in which they should be treated and their estimated length of stay (LoS). 

Health professionals are reminded that this information is for guidance only.

Emergency admissions

Children with the following diagnoses are considered an emergency and should be transferred to GOSH within hours from receipt of referral.
Diagnosis
 Estimated LoS 
Bone marrow transplant (BMT) or Severe combined immunodefficiency syndrome (SCIDS)
21 days
Circulatory failure - sepsis 
8 days
Haematology and Oncology patients 
10 days
Metabolic emergency - methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), inborn error metabolism 
7 days 
Neurosurgical emergency (arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), haemorrhage) 
7 days
Neurosurgical emergency - trauma 
7 days
Neurovascular surgery - Vein of galen (VoG) 
7 days
Renal - medical (Acute renal failure (ARF), Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) 
10 days 
Respiratory failure - simple  9 days
Respiratory failure - complex (High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFO), inhaled nitric oxide (INO)  14 days
Surgery - neonatal   21 days

Urgent admissions

Children with the following diagnoses should be transferred to GOSH within days from receipt of referral.
Diagnosis
 Estimated LoS 
Neurology - simple  3 days
Neurology - complex (eg irritractable seizures)  5 days
Renal - surgical transplant (priority due to planned donor surgery)
2 days
Surgery - cardiac (Patent ductus arteriosis (PDA)  2 days

Elective admissions

Children with the following diagnoses should be referred to GOSH via the non-emergency pathway.
Diagnosis
 Estimated LoS 
Metabolic investigations 
7 days
Neurology investigations 
7 days
Neuromuscular investigations 
7 days
Surgery - Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT)  7 days
Surgery - spinal  4 days
Surgery - general  7 days

Unlikely to admit

  • Cardiothoracic bypass
  • ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation)

Reviewed by: Darren Darby (Head of Nursing) and Andy Petros (Consultant). August 2011