What is an Intensive Care Unit?

An Intensive Care Unit is a highly specialised area within a hospital dedicated to providing continuous, round-the-clock care to patients with severe or life-threatening conditions. These patients often require intensive monitoring, specialised equipment, and high levels of medical intervention to stabilise their conditions, manage complex symptoms, and support vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, and circulation.

Intensive care is a specialised area of a hospital where patients with life-threatening illnesses injuries or post major surgery receive round-the-clock care. Patients in intensive care often need close monitoring, advanced medical treatments, and constant support to help them recover.

What types of machines and treatments are commonly used in the ICU?
In the ICU, patients may be connected to machines that help them breathe (ventilators), monitor their vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels), and administer medication. Treatments may also include intravenous fluids, hemofiltration, and advanced life support measures.

Why are these treatments necessary?
These treatments are essential to support the body’s vital functions when it is too weak or sick to manage on its own. The equipment helps the medical team track a patient’s condition and respond quickly to any changes.

What are the rules for visiting someone in the ICU?
Visiting policies vary by hospital, but ICUs generally allow close family members to visit, often with restrictions on the number of visitors and visiting hours. The ICU staff will provide guidance on when and how to visit safely and whether it is the right time to bring children to intensive care.

Seeing a loved one in ICU can be confronting. The patient may be connected to a number of machines with visible tubes and drips. The fluids given to a patient to keep them hydrated may make them look bloated and bruising can be caused by tubes and injections. This is normal and will improve as the patient recovers.

Many machines in ICU have alarms that alert staff for routine tasks, like adjusting drips, rather than emergencies. If the patient is on a ventilator, the staff may have to regularly clear the chest of mucus and fluid. They do this by putting a thinner tube into the breathing tube to suck up the mucus. This is quite noisy and may cause the patient to cough or retch.

There may be times when staff will ask you to leave the patient’s bedside. This is because some of the necessary medical procedures may upset you. It also gives the staff room to do their job.

Who makes decisions about a patient’s treatment?
The ICU medical team, led by an intensivist, makes decisions about treatment based on the patient’s condition. ICU teams consist of specially trained healthcare professionals, including intensivists (doctors who specialise in critical care), nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and other allied health professionals. They all work together to provide the best possible care for critically ill patients. Regular team meetings and ward rounds ensure everyone is up to date on the patient’s progress. In most cases, they will consult with the patient’s family, especially if the patient is unable to communicate.

How can families be involved in those decisions?
Families are encouraged to ask questions and stay informed about the patient’s treatment plan. In some situations, families may need to help make important decisions, especially regarding life-sustaining treatments.