Critical care

Purpose-built and patient-led

From routine post-operative patients through to those with complex medical needs, such as renal replacement therapy, the Critical Care unit offers a wide range of experiences and opportunities for staff - with or without previous experience in this area.

Critical Care an exciting, purpose-built development which incorporates 4 intensive-care and high-dependency beds and our nurses rotate through both sites. Staff also participate in a cardiac arrest team serving the hospital as a whole.

Our advanced technology includes a central monitoring system and facilities for measuring cardiac output, either invasively or through less invasive methods such as the oesophagral Doppler and Lidco monitors. For ventilation, we use the Drager Evita XL or the Puritan Bennett 840. A tracheotomy outreach service allows care of tracheotomies in general wards.

All new staff are mentored during their induction and ongoing skills development is encouraged. There’s access to training within the unit, through secondments in other departments and through courses run by either the Institute of Health and Social Care Studies or external providers on the UK mainland.

There’s also a flexible approach to shift patterns, which provides a choice of either traditional early and late shifts or three long days per week.