Our highly-skilled and experienced team of doctors and practitioners coordinate and support the safe transfer of critically ill and injured patients between hospitals.

For more information on any of the roles below, get in touch with the team.

Duty Consultants

Retrieve is currently a consultant led and delivered service. The Duty Consultant role is central to our operations:

  • 24/7 we take calls from hospitals around the region referring patients for critical care transfer. These come through our dedicated 0300 number to our call handler who then conferences in the Duty Consultant. Their role is to triage, coordinate and then determine the most appropriate transfer as well as give any required clinical advice to facilitate efficient and safe transfer. Time critical and urgent calls out of hours, and those that come in when the team are already committed, are routed to the ambulance service through a special arrangement we have with them, following consultant triage. The night time component of this is undertaken remotely from home and is exclusively via telephone. 

  • 12/7 (09:00-21:00) we have two teams, one at each of our bases (Launceston, Cornwall covering the Peninsula and Southmead Hospital, Bristol covering Severn). Each team consists of a Duty Consultant and Transfer Practitioner (all experienced Band 6 ICU nurses from around the region). The team undertake transfers across the region (and beyond) using our dedicated equipment, ambulances and drivers and working within our Standard Operating Procedures. 

Our current Duty Consultants say that the job adds variety, challenge and interest to their existing roles. It provides them the opportunity to visit units and hospitals and meet colleagues they would not normally work alongside.  The service is well-regarded and welcomed across the region and beyond.

More information about the Duty Consultant role

Transfer Practitioners

Our team of Band 6 Transfer Practitioners assume responsibility for the specialised care required to transfer critically ill adults.

Following completion of the appropriate additional training, the role involves working collaboratively with the multi-professional team. Most of our Transfer Practitioners work part time for Retrieve and part time in a regional Intensive Care Unit.

There is an expectation that you continue to develop your clinical and management skills by demonstrating an ability to work remotely in the referring centres, in partnership with the local teams.

More information about the Transfer Practitioner role