Intensive Care Unit (ICU) |
B36
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Visiting ICU
About Intensive Care
Our patients are admitted to the ICU for various reasons, sometimes planned (e.g. after scheduled surgery) but often as an emergency, from the hospital wards, operating theatres or the Emergency Department.
Our dedicated team of specialist doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and support staff provide care to the highest standards. We will endeavour to communicate clearly with your loved one and next of kin, and ensure that their wishes our paramount.
Visiting your loved one
We know that for family and friends, seeing your loved one come to ICU can be a very stressful time, and you may be anxious and worried.
The process of admitting a new patient to ICU and commencing monitoring and treatments can take a while. Inevitably there will be a delay (sometimes hours rather than minutes) before you can come onto the ward to see them. Please bear with us during this time.
We are not able to accommodate more than two visitors in each bedspace at a time, unless agreed with the Nurse in Charge.
Facilities for visitors
Please feel free to use our Visitor's Lounge, just inside the main doors of the Unit. Hot and cold drinks are available, and an accessible toilet is located opposite the lounge.
Please ask the staff about car parking when your next of kin is in ICU.
Visiting if you are unwell
Please do not visit the ICU if you are unwell, to protect our patients and staff. If you have had diarrhoea or vomiting, please do not visit the unit until 48 hours after your illness ends.
Keeping in touch
We will do our utmost to ensure that you are kept up to date on your loved one's progress. We will of course communicate directly with the patient if they are well enough, and will also liaise with whoever is recorded as next of kin. We will ask for the patients identified next of kin to set a password for the patient, to ensure we are speaking to the right person. The password can be anything that you find memorable.
When possible, we prefer to speak with relatives and visitors in person, rather than over the phone. If you have any specific questions, please write them down and we will do our best to answer them.
We do encourage you to send in photographs of your loved one, that we can use to personalise their care and the space around their bed. Please use this email address to send in photos:
iPads
We have several iPads available on the unit, for patients to use to aid communication and for their entertainment. Please do let us know if you feel that your relative would like to use one.
Patient Diaries
If a patient remains on ICU for over three days, the staff will commence a 'patient diary' that you will be able to write in. Some patients find that this is a useful aide memoire during their recovery.
Children
Please liaise with your nurse if you wish a child to visit so that the team can advise on this.
Information for parents of children visiting ICU
Property
There is only limited space for storing patients’ property on the unit. We do encourage you to bring in toiletries for your relative/friend. For long-stay patients, we recommend that more personal items are brought in, such as pictures and audio devices.
Cameras / mobile phones
Please do not take photos of patients: they cannot consent and as such, this is a breach of the individual’s right to privacy and confidentiality. We ask that you do not use mobile phones on the unit.Moving to a Ward
As the condition of your friend/relative improves they will no longer require the specialist skills of the Critical Care team. At this point, they will require a less intensive environment and so will be moved to another ward in the hospital. Usually this happens during the working day, but very occasionally. this may take place overnight.
During the transition period, they will continue to me seen by the Critical Care Outreach nurse, who will work with the nurses on the new ward to monitor the patient’s progress.
