Click on link to see an open access article in critical care forum about Rapid Response Teams.

Dear Colleague,

Dear Colleague,

NOrF are keen to recruit additional members to the Executive Board (EB) in order to expand our existing work streams and further improve engagement with NOrF members. In particular we would like additional EB members to take the lead on the following: 

1. The National Critical Care Outreach Activity Outcome Data Set
2. NOrF corporate development

NOrF are extremely proud of the progress we have made over the past few years. In particular, providing a representative forum for Critical Care Outreach Service providers and recipients across the country, and progressing services to optimise the quality of the patient’s treatment, care and experience. You will find existing members of the EB most welcoming, motivated and hard working. If you feel passionately about Outreach, as we do, and would like to be part of this enthusiastic team we would love to hear from you.

Please contact me: Tracey.moore@sheffield.ac.uk  by Friday 21^st October 2011

Thank you for your interest

Kind Regards

Tracey Moore

Chair, National Outreach Forum

Dear Colleagues

In response to calls from National Outreach Forum (NOrF) members to provide national guidance on a standardised operational framework of standards and competencies for Critical Care Outreach, Acute Care and NEWS Response Teams, please find the attached (click on link) for your consideration and comment:

NOrF Operational Standards and competencies for CCOS Consultation v1 28 06 11.pdf 

The National Outreach Forum has undertaken an extensive review of literature, research and DH recommendations regarding the care of the acutely ill patient in hospital, as well as consulting with expert practitioners to guide the document development. The driving force behind this piece of work is to establish a national framework that will assist existing and newly developing services in order to: benchmark service delivery, enable equity of access, and to provide guidance on future service development.

We will now engage in a robust consultation process with you the service providers, to ensure that this framework is reflective of what you as staff delivering these services require.

We would be grateful if you could forward any comments to:

 caroline.barclay@uhl-tr.nhs.uk 

by 25^th August 2011

Your chance to influence the future! 
With grateful thanks 
The NOrF Executive Board

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the date and venue for our Autumn Conference and 6th AGM. The conference will take place on Friday 4thh of November 2011 at Holywell Park at Loughborough University, Leicestershire.

Please put the date on your diaries. Further details will follow soon.

Kind regards,

The National Outreach Forum team

Dear Outreach Colleague,

The 'Recommendations for a NHS Early Warning Score (NEWS)' along with a draft NEWS observation chart, and an explanatory letter from Professor Bryan Williams, Chair of the NHS Early Warning Score Development and Implementation Group (NEWSDIG), have now been published for consultation.

Please log in to the members area forum to access the documents. The invaluable contribution made by Critical Care Outreach Teams in encouraging the adoption of EWS systems to enable a more timely response and assessment of acutely ill patients is acknowledged within the document.

As a major stakeholder in acute care in the NHS your views and comments are encouraged and should be sent to Tracy Scollin: tracy.scollin@rcplondon.ac.uk by close of business on Thursday 28 April 2011. Additionally, should you choose, it would be most useful if you were to copy me Lesley.Durham@nhct.nhs.uk into any responses in order that we can generate an overview of  'CCOT'  opinion across the Network
 
Many Thanks for your assistance -  I  look forward to hearing from you.
 
Kindest Regards
Lesley
Lesley Durham (NOrF Executive Board)
Network Director
North of England Critical Care Network (NoECCN)
C/o ICCU/HDU
North Tyneside General Hospital
Rake Lane
North Shields
NE29 8NH
Tel/fax: 0191 2934189
BB: 07824 498625
Email: Lesley.durham@nhct.nhs.uk
www.noeccn.org.uk

One of the suggestions from last conference and AGM was to organise a study day aim to ward staff. We are now pleased to announce the NOrF first study day: PREPARE...Perform...Prevent...Celebrating the work of general wards before and after critical care.

Revised definition of  Comprehensive Critical Care Outreach (3CO/PREPARE).  

Thank you to all of you that commented about the Comprehensive Critical Care Outreach evised definition.

The new definition and core elements are ready. At present we are working on the competencies and standards. To see the definition click on the above link.

The SPOT(light) study webportal has been runing from December 2010.