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Bournemouth services
- Critical Care Unit
Rehabilitation and Follow-up service
The team provides a Rehabilitation and Follow-up service for patients and families after discharge from ICU at both sites.
The role of the Critical Care Follow Up Team, comprised of critical care nurses and therapists, is to support you and your relatives if you have had a prolonged stay with us when you are discharged to the ward and when you are at home.
If you have had a prolonged stay with us we will invite you back to the Critical Care follow-up clinic. The clinic offers you an opportunity to discuss your critical care stay and any concerns or worries you may have about your recovery.
An appointment is offered 2-3 months after you have been discharged home. If you have not received a follow up appointment and would like one, or you or your family have further questions, please contact the Follow-up Team.
We know that patients often cannot remember their stay in critical care, where possible a patient diary is kept. If you received a diary and you have any remaining questions about your stay, please speak with the Critical Care Follow-up Team.
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Our Critical Care Units in Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital provide critical (intensive and high dependency) care to patients of all ages with serious life-threatening illness who need constant, close monitoring and support from equipment, medication and specialist colleagues.
We provide advanced medical procedures including artificial renal support, advanced respiratory and advanced cardiac support. We care for patients after extensive surgical procedures and look after many patients who are suffering from severe infections and other medical problems. The units are also equipped to care for children who need our support.
Our critical care teams include a wide range of health care professionals working together to deliver expert care, such as doctors, nurses, and allied healthcare specialties such as microbiology, physiotherapy and speech and language.
Visiting
In our critical care units, we welcome up to three visitors at a time due to limited space. We understand how important it is for loved ones to contact the unit but ask that one person is nominated as the main contact to reduce the number of calls we receive. To maintain patient confidentiality, we will discuss using a password which will be confirmed before any information is given over the phone.
We have an open visiting policy. Relatives, carers and friends may visit at any time, but if the patient needs to receive care you will be asked to wait. It is often better to visit in the afternoon or evening as the unit tends to be less busy.
When a patient is first admitted and for a period afterwards, visiting may be restricted to close family and friends only.
Three visitors are allowed at the bedside at any one time, so we recommend that you do not visit in large groups.
Please speak to the nurse in charge if you would like to bring children to visit family on the unit.
If you are feeling unwell, you will be asked to avoid coming into the clinical care area in order to lower the risk of infection to our patients.
Always use alcohol gel to clean your hands when entering and leaving the unit. This simple measure helps us with the prevention and control of infection.
We're sorry but we do not allow flowers due to certain bugs that can grow in the water.
When you arrive at Critical Care, please use the intercom and a member of staff will come to the door to meet you. This is to ensure the safety and security of our patients and also establish it is appropriate for you to enter and that procedures are not currently underway. Please bear with us if it takes a while to answer the door, it may be busy.
The intensive care unit may be noisy, and, for some people, it can feel a little overwhelming. Your relative may be connected to monitors, drips and machines and may look slightly different due to their critical illness. You may hear beeps and flashing on the monitors. Try not to be unnerved by this, it is quite normal. The alarms are set as an early prompt to the slightest change in the patient’s condition. We will happily explain these if would like us to do so.Your relative may be unconscious as a result of their illness or the medication given to them to keep them comfortable. They may be able to hear and feel you even if they cannot respond. Although it may feel strange, talk to them normally and let them known you are there. You may wish to hold their hand; the nurse can help you do this safely.
You can bring in personal items to make your relative more comfortable, such as a small wash bag, glasses, dentures, and razors. Music and photographs may help.
We have a very comfortable visitor’s area for you to use while your relative is with us. It is well equipped with facilities to make drinks, watch TV and pass the time. There is also a small outdoor courtyard but please remember the hospital is a no-smoking site.
When a person no longer needs our specialist skills, they will be transferred to a ward to continue their recovery.
Rehabilitation and Follow-up service
The team provides a Rehabilitation and Follow-up service for patients and families after discharge from ICU at both sites.
The role of the Critical Care Follow Up Team, comprised of critical care nurses and therapists, is to support you and your relatives if you have had a prolonged stay with us when you are discharged to the ward and when you are at home.
If you have had a prolonged stay with us we will invite you back to the Critical Care follow-up clinic. The clinic offers you an opportunity to discuss your critical care stay and any concerns or worries you may have about your recovery..
An appointment is offered 2-3 months after you have been discharged home. If you have not received a follow up appointment and would like one, or you or your family have further questions, please contact the Follow-up Team..
We know that patients often cannot remember their stay in critical care, where possible a patient diary is kept. If you received a diary and you have any remaining questions about your stay, please speak with the Critical Care Follow-up Team..
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Medical team
The critical care medical team consists of intensive care consultants, specialist senior registrars and foundation year trainee doctors. The department has an excellent team ethos and holds daily multidisciplinary team meetings to enhance patient care. During the twice daily ward round the team will check each patient, make decisions on treatment, prescribe medicines and make a plan for care.
Nursing team
Our nurses are specifically trained in critical care and are led by the critical care lead nurses. They monitor patients for changes in their condition, give medicines and specialist treatments and look after the patient’s personal needs. Bedside nurses care for a maximum of two patients, and they are supported by healthcare assistants and a nurse-in-charge.
Follow up team
The follow up team supports patients and relatives through their critical care journey - both during and following a critical care stay.
Ward clerk
We have a ward clerk who manages patient records, coordinates admissions and discharges, handles reception duties and supports clinical staff with clerical tasks.
Nutritionists
The nutrition team are responsible for making sure that patients get the right nutrition during their stay. This often involves a liquid diet given through a feeding tube or drip.
Therapists
Physiotherapists give treatment to clear respiratory (airway) secretions, e.g. mucus. This can help the patient’s breathing and help to reduce the amount of breathing support given. They also help to improve the patient’s muscle strength through exercise and help them to set goals for rehabilitation.
Speech and language therapists assess patients who have problems speaking or swallowing and help them to communicate more easily. They also advise on how to start eating and drinking safely.
Pharmacists
Pharmacists give advice on medicines. This may include making sure that patients are on the most appropriate medicine and dose, monitoring the effects of medicines and minimising any side effects. They also advise critical care staff on the safest way to give medicines.
Radiographers
Radiographers perform scans such as X-rays or ultrasounds on the unit. If patients need an MRI or CT scan, they are taken to the scanning department by a critical care doctor and nurse.
Research team
We have a very active research and clinical audit team. The clinical audit nurses and support staff monitor critical care activity and clinical performance. By participating in recognised national and international audit projects, they allow us to compare our performances with other critical care units. The clinical research nurses take part in research projects aimed at improving patient care for patients within our critical care units.
Outreach team
Our outreach team assists in the management of ill patients on the general wards and those discharged from critical care.
Support
The hospital has a multi-faith spiritual care team who are available 24 hours a day. If you would like their involvement, the bedside nurse can contact the team for you.
We know that having a relative or friend in critical care can be a very stressful experience. It is important to make sure you get enough rest and eat properly so that you do not become unwell yourself. In certain circumstances, we are able to provide overnight accommodation for the patient’s next of kin. For more information please speak to the nurse in charge.
Useful links
Royal Bournemouth Hospital
B7 Critical Care
Castle Lane East
Bournemouth
BH7 7DW
Get directions
Telephone
0300 0197300
Poole Hospital
Orange Zone
Longfleet Road
Poole
Dorset
BH15 2JB
Get directions
Telephone
0300 0198590
