Enhancing Service Provisions in your ICU

Catherine trained in Glasgow and qualified in 1985. She has worked within a variety of critical care settings since 1987 and was a Consultant Nurse in Critical Care until 2017. She then worked as a Consultant Nurse in Acute Care until 2021 in the South East of England. 

Catherine has presented at many conferences (nationally and internationally), has published numerous papers in peer reviewed journals and she has been a member of the Scientific Committee for the British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN) conference since 2013. Catherine is a peer reviewer for numerous journals, including ‘Nursing Times’, 'Nursing in Critical Care' and 'Intensive and Critical Care Nursing', and she is on the Editorial Board for the latter two journals. Catherine was on the National Board of the BACCN Association as a Professional Advisor until September 2023. She took early retirement at the start of 2021 and has worked at a vaccination centre and within a virtual ward team in Staffordshire since January 2021.

Dr Ram Matsa is the Lead for critical care rehabilitation and has set up a comprehensive ICU rehab within the hospital. He also has developed an innovative “Single point Access- pilot COVID follow up service” and has demonstrated a significant “unmet needs” for critically ill covid patients. Has a special interest in sleep, cognition, and delirium in intensive care patients and organised a National ICU Rehab Conference at UHNM. Ram is also a member in the FICM educational subcommittee and co-leads the” Case of the Month” section in the FICM education. He serves as a member of the COBA Faculty at the ESICM office and has contributed to the revised COBATRICE curriculum. 

Ram is the Lead for Procedural Skills ( MBBCH Program) at School of Medicine, Keele University and has introduced the Ultrasound Skills in Undergraduate education. 

Ram is the lead in point of care ultrasound in acute medicine and has been a “Founder member” of the Focussed acute medical ultrasound at Society of Acute Medicine and has co-written the national Curriculum for Acute medical ultrasound which is currently an essential skill for Acute medical trainees. 

Ram has significant research interest and has contributed to number of peer reviewed publications in acute care ultrasound and Renal biomarkers in critical care. He is actively involved in Critical care rehab research.

Dr Julie Highfield is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Lead for Organisational Health in Adult and Paediatric Critical Care, Cardiff. She is the National Project Director for Wellbeing in the Intensive Care Society. She has a long experience of working as a psychologist in medical and health care settings and works closely with staff in their experience of working in healthcare, as well as advising managers on matters of workforce wellbeing. Julie has worked with the British Psychological Society and its Division of Clinical Psychology in Wales. She led the BPS team writing the National Guidance for Staff in the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Julie has been part of work with APPG in Parliament for both the British Psychological Society and the Intensive Care Society. She has also worked with the Welsh Assembly Government, including as the lead for Critical Care Workforce Task and Finish Group, and Modelling for Rehabilitation for patients post COVID-19, and the Wellbeing Conversation Tool. She has a number of publications and book chapters in the field of critical care, staff wellbeing and leadership.