Intensive Care Service Introduction

The Intensive Care Service (ICS) at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) is a level 6 tertiary referral service with specialty practice in liver transplantation, trauma, neurovascular surgery, cardiac surgery and complex management of patients requiring advanced therapies. The "Hotfloor" was commissioned and opened on the 3rd of July 2002. At 54 critical care beds the new Intensive Care Service is the largest comprehensive critical care service in Australia (current capacity 27 ventilated, and 18 high dependency beds).

The service is committed to evidence based best practice, education, research and participative operational management. The busy intensive care and high dependency areas cater for a highly complex patient casemix. Over 70% of admissions to the general ICU are emergency admissions from internal and external clinical units, and via the Emergency Department creating a stimulating patient casemix and clinical practice.

The ICS offers a wide variety of professional, educational and clinical development opportunities including;

• Post graduate studies with the collaboration of the University of Technology – Sydney (UTS).
• Comprehensive Medical Training Program for Intensive Care Registrars.
• Funded course positions at the NSW College of Nursing for Critical Care Courses sponsored by the NSW Health Dept.
• Clinical experience in general, neurosciences, cardiothoracic, trauma, and transplantation specialties.
• Comprehensive orientation and preceptor ship programs with structure learning programs.
• Inductory Rotation Program (IRP) for the RN new to the intensive care environment, incorporating a structured learning format, learning packages and specialty workshop attendance with study leave.
• The opportunity to undertake the Critical Care ACCESS Nurse position, an Australian first, which incorporates clinical coordination, education, clinical problem solving, trauma retrieval, advanced clinical liaison and rapid access care.
• Access to clinical education 7 days per week.
• Advanced clinical information systems and clinical website resources;
• 12, 10, 8 and 6 hour rosters.
• The opportunity to relieve in a variety of higher grade management, education and clinical resource positions.

The ICS has state of the art equipment and an advanced clinical infrastructure to support excellence in critical care nursing. Resource people include pharmacy, allied, biomedical and ancillary staff available 7 days a week. These resources will equip critical care clinicians to practice at their peak in a challenging, dynamic and innovative environment.