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Intensive Care

Critical care, also known as intensive care, is needed if someone is seriously ill with life-threatening conditions and requires intensive treatment and close monitoring. This is carried out in a ward called the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). These wards within the hospital are staffed with a multi-disciplinary healthcare team equipped and designed to closely monitor and treat patients with life-threatening conditions. Patients may need specialist treatment because one or more of their body systems, such as their heart, lung, or kidneys, are not working properly.

Because our patients are often very unwell, they will have much greater care needs than those patients being cared for on more general wards within the hospital. For this reason, each nurse will care for one patient only at a time and patients will be reviewed by different teams regularly.

 

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Web Link: UK Government Information; Personal Independent Payment

This link provides information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) scheme

Article: Urinary catheters

Urinary catheters – this is a flexible tube that is passed into the bladder to drain urine. It is essential to drain the bladder of urine whilst the patient is sedated and unable to go to the toilet normally. The urine is collected in a clear drainage bag, where the nurse can monitor how much urine is made each hour.

External Article: VA ECMO - The society of thoracic surgeon

VA ECMO explained by the Society of thoracic surgeons

Article: Ventilator or breathing machine

What is a ventilator? The ventilator is also sometimes called a breathing machine or life support machine. The ventilator is a machine that helps the patient to breathe while they are very ill or too sleepy to breathe by themselves e.g. after a general anaesthetic. How does a ventilator work? The ventilator or breathing machine is connected to the patient via a tubing system and a tube that is inserted into the patient's mouth and windpipe (a breathing tube, endotracheal or...

Web Link: Virtual visiting: Download Aetonix aTouchAway Mobile app for Android devices

Weblink to Android app store to download 'aTouchaway mobile' app

Web Link: Virtual visiting: Download Aetonix aTouchaway Mobile app for iPhone devices

Weblink to Apple app store to download 'aTouchaway mobile' app

Article: Visiting the ICU for the first time

Visiting the Intensive Care Unit for the first time Some patients are admitted to Intensive Care as a planned part of their care-after major surgery or to allow specialist treatments to be performed, for example. In the case of planned major surgery, it is sometimes possible to visit the Intensive Care Unit beforehand, so that you and your family member have some idea of what to expect. Some people prefer to do this, while others don't.It's completely up to you. Many patients...

Article: Weaning from the ventilator

What is weaning? Weaning is the process through which we gradually reduce the amount of support patients receive from the ventilator or breathing machine.Our aim is to reduce the amount of support the patient receives and take the breathing tube out as soon as it is safe to do so.Research has shown that the sooner we do this, the less chance the patient has of developing a chest infection (called a ventilator associated pneumonia) and the less time they generally spend in Intensive...

Web Link: What is Intensive Care - FICM - For Patients

The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine (FICM) website provides a range of resources about an ICU admission and also recovery