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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: Explain my ICU procedure - swallowing difficulties

This video explains the difficulties with swallowing while in ICU.

Web Link: Explain my ICU procedure - tracheostomy

This video explains the tracheostomy procedure, where a tube is inserted to the front of the widepipe to help a patient have the support from the breathing machine reduced slowly while they get stronger.

Web Link: Explain my procedure - Mechanical ventilation

Mechanical ventilation (a machine that supports breathing) is explained in this video.

Article: Feeding Tubes

Feeding in the intensive care It’s very important for patients in the intensive care unit to maintain an adequate nutrition and calorie intake in order to fight the infection and aid recovery after prolonged illness, so while they are unable to eat enough normally, we use tube feeding. There are several feeding tubes that may be used in the ICU: Nasogastric tube - A nasogastric tube is the most common type of feeding tube used.  These are long thin tubes, placed by a nurse or the...

Web Link: Finding bereavement support services:

This link will help you find bereavement support services in your local area.

Article: Flowtron boots or sequential compression devices

Flowtron boots or sequential compression devices, are sleeves that wrap around the legs of a patient and inflate with air one at a time. This process imitates walking and helps to reduce blood clots in patients who are sedated and ventilated.

Article: Fluids and medications

Fluids When patients are connected to a ventilator or breathing machine, they are unable to drink normally. Fluids are therefore given directly into the bloodstream via drips or lines.The nurses carefully monitor and record how much fluid the patient receives along with the patient's vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure,etc), daily blood tests and how much urine they pass to make sure that he or she is receiving the right amount of fluids. Medication Medication can...

Web Link: Georgia's experience of using a virtual visiting app whilst recovering from covid-19

In this article Georgia, talks about a virtual visiting app saved her life while she was recovering in hospital after she spent almost a month in a coma after contracting COVID-19 Georgia said: “It was like living a nightmare. I was scared when I woke up from the coma and all I wanted was my family to be by my bedside. Life Lines gave me some peace because it was the only line of communication I had with my husband and sister.”

Web Link: Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital: Intensive Care Unit patient experience video

This video provides a virtual tour of the intensive care unit at Guys and St Thomas' Hospital, filmed from the patient's perspective. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz07QXqWt4k Please click the CC icon bottom right hand corner for subtitles/closed captions

Web Link: Guy's and St. Thomas' Palliative Care Service

Additional support from the hospital’s palliative care team will be offered as appropriate. Details are found here.