Radiographers and paediatric intensive care

Service review of a radiographer-led central vascular access service in the paediatric intensive care unit of a specialist heart and lung centre

Published on June 1, 2026

Radiographers and paediatric intensive care

In 2016, at a specialist heart and lung UK medical centre, the radiographer-led ultrasound-guided vascular access service for adults was asked to extend its peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) service to include paediatric patients. 


The adult service began in July 2013 and by 2016 the number of PICC procedures performed per year had grown from 62 to more than 400. Initially, the service extension to paediatrics was limited to include compliant patients over the age of 10. 


Over the course of the following two years, the service was extended incrementally to include all paediatric patients, with no limit on age or weight and no exclusions related to patient condition or diagnosis. This article describes the evolution of the service to where it is in 2026. 


Background


In 2016, the adult vascular access team consisted of four radiographers. Each radiographer had been trained and assessed in...

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