Critical care incorporates general adult intensive care, high-dependency, the Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit (PACU), critical care outreach and the Critical Care Follow-up Clinic. The Critical Care Unit has 35 beds, managed and staffed by a large multidisciplinary team. All care is consultant-led.
There are currently eleven critical care consultants, who together provide 24-hour cover for the unit. There are strong links with University College London: three consultants have joint appointments. Critical care, along with anaesthesia, is one of the main themes in the UCLH Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre (CBRC), which is the only CBRC in the country to have this theme.
The critical care outreach service is available 24/7. It is led by a nurse consultant and includes a Patient Emergency Response Team (PERT) that provides prompt, skilled support for all staff across the hospital caring for at-risk and deteriorating patients. It also follows-up patients discharged from the Critical Care Unit, in order to optimise their recovery. The service reduces cardiac arrests, the morbidity, mortality and hospital stay of high-risk patients.
The Critical Care Follow-up Clinic is consultant-led, but the patient is also seen by a clinical nurse specialist and has the opportunity to be seen by the unit’s clinical psychologist. All patients who have been discharged from hospital, and were in critical care for three or more days, are routinely invited to book an appointment.
Service performance
The UCLH Critical Care Unit is one of the largest units in the country, providing a high standard of care for 2,500 patients per year. National intensive care audits have shown that our survival rates are among the highest in the country.
Patient support services
- The unit is supported by a multi-denominational chaplaincy department.
- A clinical psychologist is available via appointment to support patients and relatives.
- There is a relatives’ room on the unit for daytime use and evenings up to 22:00. Advice is available for relatives regarding local accommodation if required.
- Patients are supported by our extensive multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, a dietician and other members for the team.
Patient aftercare
- On leaving critical care patients will be referred to one of our specialist wards.
- The critical care outreach service routinely follows up patients who have been on the unit for two or more days and have recently moved to the wards.
- Patients who have stayed on the unit for three or more days will be invited to attend the critical care follow-up clinic. However, any critical care patient may have an appointment should they wish to have one.