Speakers
Chris Remmington
David Sapsford
Rebekah Canning
Hall 5
This session explores iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome (IWS) as an often under-recognised barrier to recovery following critical illness. It will cover key concepts, emerging evidence, and how withdrawal presents across the patient pathway—from ICU to rehabilitation—along with practical strategies to support recognition and improve patient engagement and outcomes.
Chair: David Sapsford
Presentations:
Learning objectives:
Learning objectives:
Chris is a senior pharmacist with extensive experience in intensive care medicine. He is currently undertaking a doctoral fellowship with National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) focusing on protocolised sedation in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients. He is employed by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust providing pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College London.
He holds national leadership roles including Deputy Chair of the Pharmacy Professionals Advisory Group for the Intensive Care Society and is Chair of the UK ECMO Pharmacist Group. He is research active and has published several peer reviewed articles on ECMO sedation and pharmacy workforce.
David has been practising critical care pharmacy since 2003 and now leads a team of ten pharmacists and a pharmacy technician covering the 59 adult critical care beds at Cambridge University Hospitals NHSFT. His particular interests include safe, effective use and stewardship of antimicrobials, and management of pain and delirium in ICU patients.
David is deputy chair of the Intensive Care Society Pharmacy Professional Advisory Group and is delighted to count himself as inaugural ICS Leadership Programme alumni.
Rebekah is a senior pharmacist with more than 10 years’ experience in intensive care medicine. She is currently undertaking a doctoral fellowship with Health and Social Care R&D division, focusing on the identification of iatrogenic withdrawal in critically ill patients resulting from continuous opioid and/or sedative exposure.
David McWilliams is a Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation and Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and Coventry University's Centre for Care Excellence. He is the chair of the physiotherapy working group for the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and Chair of the Intensive Care Society National Rehabilitation Collaborative. David was a member of the guideline development group for the NICE guideline ‘Critical Illness rehabilitation’ and led an NCEPOD study into rehabilitation and recovery following critical illness. David is recognised as an international expert on critical care physiotherapy and rehabilitation, regularly presenting both nationally and internationally on the subject.