The Critical Care service is delivered on the Altnagelvin Hospital and South West Acute Hospital sites. The units provide care and support for those patients who are extremely ill requiring intense medical and nursing interventions and close monitoring. Critical Care has traditionally been referred to as Intensive Care Units and High Dependency Units (ICU and HDU).
Medical care is led by Consultant Intensivists in partnership with the patient’s own admitting Consultant. The highly skilled and experienced nursing staff are supported by a Nurse Consultant in Critical Care.
If critically ill patients require specialist treatment in another hospital outside of the Western Trust, specialist transport equipment is used by trained staff to ensure treatment and monitoring is maintained during the transfer to the specialist centre.
Critical Care at Altnagelvin Hospital
- Intensive Care – 7 beds
- High Dependency – 3 beds
Critical Care at South West Acute Hospital
- Intensive Care – 2 beds
- High Dependency – 4 beds
A Critical Care Outreach Service is provided in Altnagelvin Hospital by a team of highly skilled and experienced critical care nurses and a physiotherapist who are supported by a Consultant Intensivist. This service provides a multi-disciplinary approach to supporting staff at ward level in the identification of patients at risk of their physical condition deteriorating. The service assists in enabling early intervention and if required, facilitating a timely admission to critical care. All patients who are transferred from ICU or HDU to the ward setting are followed-up by the service for a period of at least 48 hours. Critical Care Outreach Service is also widely engaged in audit and training of staff.