My Story

In November 2025 I was told by my GP to make some lifestyle choices or face the consequences. I was 52 an ex-smoker who ate rubbish and thought physical exercise was getting a beer from the fridge. This time I decided to set myself a goal…like run up to Christmas without passing out, but fate has a way of dealing me a hand. I was chatting to a colleague and they mentioned that she had started running, I told her about my efforts and she exclaimed, “lets train for a half marathon”. Not wanting to lose face I agreed. I laced up my trainers and am now on course to smash my 16 week training plan.

CATS

Most hospitals in the UK do not have a specialist paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Instead, children’s intensive care services are centralised in about 30 large hospitals in major urban centres. It is rare for children to become critically ill, but when they do it is necessary to start providing intensive care in the local hospital and then move the child quickly and safely to an appropriate PICU.

This is where CATS comes in. CATS is a team of specialist doctors, nurses, ambulance technicians and administrators that take the expertise of paediatric intensive care to the child’s bedside. CATS then moves the child – by land or air – to a PICU where they can continue to receive the specialist intensive care they need.