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Ann Jackson is one of the senior transport nurses at Embrace. She has spent most of her nursing career with paediatrics and prior to Embrace she worled at Sheffield Children鈥檚 Hospital for 17 years.

When a critically ill child needs to be moved to a specialist hospital the call comes in to Embrace headquarters near Barnsley.

All 40 doctors and nurses there are trained in critical care for paediatric and neo-natal patients

"All the ambulance are checked every day before we go out. We鈥檙e like coiled springs should an energency occur," says Ann.

"When you鈥檝e just got one child to look after, you can give them absolutely 100%. They cope remarkabley well with illnesses, much better than we do as adults."

She describes checking out the specialist ambulance before a journey as "just like packing to go on holiday" but on many occassions their housekeeping has to wait if a call comes in from a hospital.

Ann is often called to take a baby to one of the north鈥檚 big neo-natal units 鈥� en route she has to ensure that the child or baby is stable. Moving a baby can take several hours even for a realtively short journey.

"We鈥檙e very keen on safety so we have an attitude that it takes as long as it takes.

"We want to move these children as swiftly as we can but if it takes an hour or it takes six hours, then that鈥檚 what it is because we don鈥檛 want to move them till they鈥檙e absolutely ready."

Often they have to swap a baby from the hospital breathing machine or ventilator onto the Embrace ventilator.

"You鈥檝e got to keep one step ahead of the little ones as anything can happen at any time.

"The adrenaline goes up and you鈥檙e heart rate goes up and you can think 鈥榦h gosh鈥� but it鈥檚 controlled. It鈥檚 scary but it鈥檚 controlled because you鈥檝e got everything there you need to deal with it.鈥�

"When we鈥檙e working with the babies or children time goes very quickly for us as there鈥檚 a lot to do but I think for parents that clock ticks very slowly."

Parents can feel very stressed when they arrive at the unit鈥� so her job is to reassure and explain what is going on.

One the Embrace medics are on the road they operate as a mobile intensive care unit but with much less resources than the hospital

Only one patient has died en route since the service was set up nearly four years ago.

Ann Jackson remembers it well: 鈥淚t鈥檚 horrible, it鈥檚 horrible because it鈥檚 not what should happen. I think that with that particular child we knew the risks were high and the family knew the risks were high.

"But it was the baby鈥檚 only chance of surviving so it was with the family鈥檚 consent and their wishes that we moved the baby. It doesn鈥檛 make it any easier when you lose them.

"We cried with the parents and I鈥檓 not ashamed to say that because I think that makes them think that you really do care. It鈥檚 not just another baby but you have to be careful because they鈥檙e the ones who鈥檝e lost the baby.

"It鈥檚 their child and we are the transport team so it鈥檚 getting that balance between sympathising, holding, saying the right things but then drawing back a little bit and recognising their grief. But it affects the team hugely."