About us

The Critical Care Outreach team (CCOT) is a nurse led service that supports ward nurses and doctors who are caring for acutely unwell inpatients.

CCOT nurses are all highly experienced senior nurses who have advanced skills in patient examination and diagnostics. We take patient referrals 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Our role is primarily to ensure that critically ill patients or those at risk of becoming so, receive appropriate and timely treatment in the most suitable location in the hospital. The team are also a valuable resource for ward staff in supporting patients who are stepping down from a period of critical illness, as well as being key members of the Trust’s cardiac arrest team.

Our purpose is to:

  • Ensure timely referral and admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for patients who require a higher level of monitoring or support than can be provided at general ward level.
  • Follow up patients who have been transferred from the ICU to general ward areas. This promotes a seamless transition between ICU and ward areas, whilst giving opportunity for our team to assess patient progress both physically and psychologically.
  • Actively participate in the deteriorating patient group, whose main aim is to lead and co-ordinate efforts to improve the safety of patients who are vulnerable to unexpected deterioration.
  • Share our knowledge and skills with ward staff, both at the bedside and through formal education programmes. We provide training to nurses, allied health professionals and junior doctors with an emphasis on recognising and managing acutely unwell patient. Areas of expertise include:
    • Tracheostomy/laryngectomy management
    • Non-invasive ventilation
    • Sepsis recognition and management
    • Acute Life Threatening Events Recognition and Treatment course (ALERT)
    • Advanced Life Support.

Call 4 Concern (supporting Martha’s Rule)

Call 4 Concern© (C4C) is a patient safety service enabling patients and families to call for immediate help and advice when they feel concerned that the healthcare team has not recognised their own or a loved one’s changing condition and they are becoming more unwell.

Contact the team if you have ongoing concerns after you have spoken to the ward nurse or doctor:

  • Designated team for adult inpatients – 07385 112947
  • Designated team for maternity inpatients – 07385 949039
  • Designated team for paediatric inpatients (children and young people) – 07386 650063

Read more about Martha’s Rule on the NHS England website.