Critical Care Unit (ICU)

Our department is housed in a modern, purpose built, 24 bedded complex with capacity for future expansion. We are a medical, surgical ICU. We admit over 1500 patients a year from all specialties except elective cardiac and neurosurgery.

Over 60% of admissions require mechanical ventilation (breathing) management.  A high proportion of patients require blood pressure support care and approximately 20% also require dialysis therapy for kidney failure.  The regional renal medicine/transplantation unit is based at QA Hospital. There is a roof top helipad for the Air Ambulance and coastguard helicopters. The Department operates a mobile Intensive Care service for patients who require transfer to/from other Intensive Care units as required and provide a paediatric resuscitation and stabilisation service prior to retrieval by our local Paediactric intensive care service (SORT).  

The unit is staffed on a 24-hour basis by doctors in training with close supervision and support from the ICU Consultant.  The Department considers Intensive Care Medicine to be an identifiable branch of acute medicine.  Clinical control of the Intensive Care Unit lies with the Intensive Care Consultants, all of whom have specific training in Intensive Care.. We have a number of funded and trust junior doctor placements to support this work. The Department has a strong reputation for training which has led to A* deanery awards in successive years and was rated as outstanding in all 5 domains and overall by the CQC in 2016 & 2022.  The Department has training links with Intensive Therapy Centres in Australia and Canada with individuals who have conducted training periods in both countries. 

We have a burgeoning Advance Critical Care Practitioner (ACCP) training scheme currently have 9 ACCPs in post with 3 trainee ACCP’s. We have over 130 dedicated nursing staff who help deliver excellent care to our patients with the support of a dedicated physiotherapy, dietician, psychology, research, outreach and critical care follow up team.

We changed to our second Clinical Information System (electronic patient record) in 2012 after 10 years of the first system and are due to update this again in 2024.