This special issue of Paediatric Nursing is very timely as it coincides with the ten-year anniversary of the publication of Bridge to the Future (DH 1997). This document placed children’s intensive care high on the agenda, clearly identified at last as a speciality in its own right. Following national and local reviews and additional funding, paediatric intensive care in the NHS has become a service which is: a) well organised; b) has an evolving knowledge base backed up by clear educational standards; and c) robust networking systems with national retrieval services. To celebrate these achievements the Royal College of Nursing’s Paediatric & Neonatal Intensive Care Forum, in collaboration with Paediatric Nursing, has put together this edition of the journal with a collection of articles related to paediatric and neonatal critical care.