Critical care, also referred to as intensive care unit (ICU) at Lister Hospital is spread over three areas: Critical Care North, Critical Care Central and Critical Care South. We are located on level 4 of the tower block, which is in the orange zone.
Between the three units there are 20 critical care bed areas – set out in a mix of isolation rooms and a bay-style area where there may be 3 or 4 beds divided by curtains.
If you are not entirely sure where your relative or friend is, staff on any of the units will be able to support you in locating them and showing you to their bed space.
People may be admitted to critical care following an illness, an accident, or a major operation. Some people come to critical care following a planned procedure, and their stay in critical care is expected. Others may suddenly become unwell and are transferred to the unit as an emergency. All those who are cared for in critical care are there for specialist interventions and close observation that cannot be achieved to the same level in other areas of the hospital.
Having a relative or friend in critical care can be stressful and upsetting, perhaps bringing up feelings of fear, helplessness, and vulnerability. This is a normal response to a difficult situation and our team are here to support the patient and you in this.
Admission
If you are present in the hospital when your relative or friend is admitted, please be aware it may take some time to settle them into the unit. Once they are transferred and a handover has been taken, we will move them onto an air mattress and attach them to the bedside monitoring equipment.
The patient will have an initial review done by the doctors, which will be discussed and confirmed with a senior level doctor. Following this the patient may require interventions. We always aim to get relatives in as soon as possible, but this can only happen once we have stabilised the patient and attended to their immediate needs. Please bear with us if you are waiting to come in.
Routine
You will see the nurses change over at 8-8.30am and 8-8.30pm. Where possible, please be mindful and avoid calling at these times to aid a smooth handover process for your friend or relative.
Equipment
There are lots of equipment and monitoring within critical care. These can be overwhelming when you visit your friend or relative, particularly if there has been a change in their condition or you are visiting for the first time. These pieces of equipment and monitoring can be noisy, in the way, and alarm unexpectedly.
Our staff are trained to manage these machines alongside caring for your loved one, and we often set alarm limits to tell us about a slight change in their condition or to see how things are doing. Pumps or machines may often alarm to inform staff when they need to perform an intervention, such as changing an infusion or bag.
Staff or patients may also inadvertently set the alarms off during movement or coughing. This is normal and we expect the alarms and vital signs to settle once the patient settles. Patients are constantly monitored by the nursing staff; please try not to focus on the monitor and alarms. We expect conditions to vary and will intervene where required.
