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| Intensive Care Unit |
These notes give an overall guide to your stay in hospital. You may see some differences in the details of your treatment, since it is tailored to suit your own condition.
Introduction This is a guide to help you during your stay as a patient. It covers details which apply to quite major surgery much of which does not apply to every patient. It does not cover everything and you will find you own treatment is a bit different. Please ask the nurses or doctors if you would like to know more.  What is the ICU? The ICU means Intensive Care Unit. In other words it is a place where we can keep a much closer watch on your progress than on an ordinary ward. We can give you very special treatment and vary it from minute to minute if needed. We can take over, for instance, your breathing if you are having difficulties. Why you need to be on the ICU Your illness or operation is too complex for an ordinary ward. You are better of here until it is safe for you to go back to an ordinary ward. What does the ICU look like? It is a single large room with spaces for about 10 patients. It is light, airy and warm. How long you will be there Most patients are moved on the ICU for less than 3 days. Then they go back to an ordinary ward. Some patients stay longer, depending on their illness. We will let you know how long you are likely to stay. Who else will be there? There may be other patients in the ICU with you. You will see lots of ICU staff. There will be at least 3 different nurses looking after you day and night. There will be several doctors, physiotherapists looking after your chest, x-ray staff and domestic staff. The chaplain can call. It is quite busy, but we do try to let you have a quiet time for sleep. What will be done for you Part of what we do is measurement of your progress. Part is treatment. It is all aimed at getting you better as quickly as possible. When you wake up This will usually be after an operation or after you have been very ill. You will probably wake up bit by bit over several hours. You will be on a comfortable wide bed covered by a sheet or blanket. There will be lots of tubes and wires connected to you and joined to various bottles, TV screens, and machines.p; You will probably have the following:
What does it feel like? At first you will probably be so sedated that you will not be aware of much that is going on around you. As you get better you will be able to take much more notice. We take great care to make things as comfortable and pleasant for you as possible. But it is hard work for you. You may well get impatient and tired. We will help you through this time. We can give special painkillers to control any pain. The nurses will be checking your pulse, blood pressure, urine and 101 other things every 15 minutes. They will be turning you from side to side every 2 hours or so to keep you skin from getting sore. You will have bed baths, shaving and hair brushing as needed to keep you fresh and comfortable. The nurses will clean your mouth, teeth and nose. The physiotherapist will visit you to get you to cough and clear your lungs of phlegm. They will also exercise your legs and arms. The x-ray staff will sit you up for x-rays once or more each day. All you need in the way of food and water will be given straight into a vein at first. You will not need anything by mouth. We can give drugs, antibiotics and special chemicals by the same route. Your are unlikely to open you bowels in the ICU. If you do we can arrange a bedpan and screens. Your urine drains out automatically into a collecting bag. You do not need to worry about this. Contact with the outside world At first you may have only a hazy idea of what is happening to yourself, let alone the outside world. We will keep your relatives and friends up to date with your progress. As you get better you will be more aware of your surroundings. You will be able to talk to the ICU staff. They will keep you in touch with your progress, the date and time, and outside events. You can have visitors as often as you like. You can use the telephone if you wish. We can deal with sick notes, certificates. Keep fighting, even when you are tired and feeling low. The Ventilator The ventilator is an oxygen pump that takes over the breathing. We can use it if a patient does not have the strength to breathe properly, or if phelgm is building up in the lungs. It is a very useful life saving device. We need to give sedatives and other drugs so that the ventilator can pump oxygen in and out of the lungs. Also a tube goes down the windpipe. as a result, the voice does not work and the muscles are weakened. We follow the daily routine as above plus all the steps needed to help you on the ventilator. We make a point of talking to you while you are being ventilated. As you get used to the machine we can lift the sedatives. You will be able to communicate back to us by moving your eyelids, or head, or by writing. As you get better we can wean you off the ventilator over a day or two. Finally you breathe normally once more and your voice comes back. As you get better Your best guide is that you will feel better. You will be taking an interest in your surroundings and in what is happening to yourself. If you start complaining, this is a good sign. Step by step, we can take away the tubing and wiring. When you go back to the ordinary ward, you may still have some drains and feeding lines attached. You will probably still have a urine catheter. You will be having little by mouth and your bowels will not have opened. The ordinary ward team will deal with the later part of your recovery. What you can do to help You are the key to your recovery. The more you help the ICU, the quicker you will get better. We do not do anything that is unnecessary. The main thing is to keep you lungs clear. If you keep coughing to shift the phlegm you are well on the way to recovery. A final word All this information may be too much to grasp at the first go. Most people read this leaflet about 5 times. The ICU is filled with highly trained staff who will be delighted to tell you more. Please jot down any questions here and ask the Sister in charge of ICU to see you before the operation to answer them. |
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