CCT in ICM - programme overview unit ... - London Deanery

Trainees
1 CCST in ICM trainee, intermediate or advanced (this post)
1 SpR in Respiratory Medicine regularly attached to ICU for six months
1 international Clinical Fellow
1 senior SpR in Anaesthesia on-call for anaesthetic ICU duties
1 junior SpR in Anaesthesia regularly attached for three months
7 SHO’s from other base specialities (Medicine, Surgery, A + E)
Chelsea and Westminster
Contact: Dr Neil Soni (0208-746-8000)
The Intensive Therapy Unit
The Intensive Therapy Unit is under the Service Directorship of Dr Neil Soni.
There are currently 4 Intensivists involved in running the ITU; Drs Soni,
Fauvel, Hayes and Keays. A fifth consultant is about to be appointed. The unit
has 11 intensive care beds, of which 7 are ventilator beds and 4 function as
ITU stepdown/HDU beds. At present there are 450 admissions per year
through the unit, but this is rising since the extra beds were opened, and is
expected to increase to 600 over the next 18 months. The occupancy rates of
the ITU vary between 90 and 100%.
It is a fully equipped modern unit, which caters for an extensive range of
specialties including trauma, vascular surgery, general surgery, oncology and
obstetrics.
The Intensive Care Unit is staffed by members of the Anaesthetic
Department. A SpR is allocated to the unit for a block of 3 months as part of
their training requirement. A senior SpR 3 or 4 is allocated to the unit for a
period of 3 months at a time. These senior trainees select to do ITU. There is
also a 1-2 yr post for CCST in ICM trainees. There is an active interest in
research with a wide range of research interests. There is a comprehensive
audit process using Acubase for patient data. At present clinical audit is
conducted in conjunction with the rest of the anaesthetic department.
The consultant roster is based on a week on call at a time, thereby
guaranteeing continuity of care. All admissions and discharges through ITU
are at the discretion of the Consultant in charge of ITU. The Intensivist and
the Intensive Care team is clinically responsible for the patient in the ITU with
open consultation relevant medical teams and in particular the admitting
team. The unit enjoys a good rapport with other specialties in the hospital.
We are in the process of developing a more formal Outreach Service.
Previously problems on the ward were referred to the ITU team for
consultation. It is hoped that we will have a team of ITU trained nurses who
will provide ITU advice and assistance in the management of problems in ten
acute ward areas. This team will be led by a Nurse Consultant in close
consultation with the ITU Medical team.