PICANet Level 2 April 2024 to September 2025

Delivery of all services for the provision of PICANet Level 2 clinical database, including collection and analysis of data from Paediatric Critical Care Units across England. Provision of the PICANet Level 2 clinical database , including the collection and analysis of data from PIC Level 2 Units in England, and training and support for staff in PCC Units and PCC ODN staff, to support high compliance with requirement to submit data.

The PICANet L2 clinical database enables ‘near real time’ data feed of Level 2 data on Paediatric Critical Care. The Paediatric Critical Care (PCC) and Surgery in Children (SIC) Review published a Summary Report in November 2019.

A key outcome from the review was the development for the capability for PICANet to capture data from all Level 2 paediatric critical care units. In part this is to support another key outcome of the review, which was to establish a local networked model of care supported via ten operational delivery networks (ODNs) across the 7 NHS England regions, supporting critical care and surgical services for children.

Demand for PCC services have increased over the past 20 years, with the most significant growth in demand in recent years being for high dependency PCC. These services had not been consistently commissioned across the country, and clinical data from these services had not been collected universally and consistently to inform the development of PCC services.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the delivery of the Review recommendations had been delayed as regional resources were redeployed. However, it became clear that access to timely critical care data is paramount in being able to support the management of the capacity for all critical care services when demand surges, as it did during the COVID 19 pandemic.

PCC ODNs play a central role in delivering an effective surge responses and recovery, therefore access to robust ‘near time’ data is vital in supporting the ODNs. The requirement for regular data flow from Level 2 PCC services is, and will continue to be a high priority for paediatric critical care service development.

During the winter months and at times of high childhood infections, PCC services consistently experience a surge in demand; efficient flow of PCC patients through the system is essential. This reinforces the importance of the current approach to the future commissioning of PCC Level 2 units.

In 2021, NHS England provided funding for PICANet to pilot the development the PICANet Level 2 clinical database to enable a regular ‘near real time’ data feed and reporting on Level 2 activity. Level 3 data is currently commissioned on NHSE's behalf via its contract with Health Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and delivered by University of Leeds.

Following completion of the pilot development contract, expanding and maintaining the delivery of the PICANet Level 2 clinical database should now become 'business as usual.' In the aftermath of the Lucy Letby incident, NHS England is assisting in an urgent review of neonatal services.

PICANet data will increasingly be in focus and cessation of the service at this time would be ill-timed. This proposal seeks to secure an additional 18 months of funding to give sufficient time to carry out pre-market engagement activities followed by a procurement exercise by September 2025.

The business case for this (BC-25066) is underway. Following the procurement exercise, we will commission the of delivery of PICANet Level 2 until March 2027 whereupon we will align the commissioning of both PICANet Level 2 and Level 3 clinical databases into a single contract. This will be a retrospective STA under Regulation 32 (2) (b), and will be for a duration of 18 months.