Critical Care Unit layout

The Critical Care Unit should be easily accessible by departments from which patients are admitted and close to departments which share engineering services. In a new hospital, all critical care facilities should ideally be proximal to operating theatres, emergency department, laboratories, and imaging suites.

It is desirable that critically ill patients are separated from those in the recovery phase or needing coronary care where a quieter environment is needed. Providing intensive care and high dependency care in the same Critical Care Unit allows fl exibility of staffi ng, although the differing requirements of these patients may limit such flexibility.

Size of unit

Requirements depend on the activity of the hospital with additional beds required for regional specialties such as cardiothoracic surgery or

neurosurgery. Very small (<6 beds) or very large (>14 beds) units may be diffi cult to manage, although larger units may be divided operationally and allow better concentration of resources.

Patient areas

• Patient areas must provide unobstructed passage around the bed with a fl oor space of 26m 2 per bed and bed centres of at least 4.6m. Curtains or screens are required for privacy.

• Floors and ceilings must be constructed to support heavy equipment (some may weigh >1000kg).

• Doors must allow for passage of bulky equipment as well as wide beds.

• A wash hand basin with elbow-operated or proximity-operated mixer taps, soap, and antiseptic dispensers should be close to every bedspace.

• The specifi cation should include 50% of beds as isolation cubicles. Air pressure control in cubicles should ensure effective patient isolation.

• Services must include adequate electricity supply (at least 28 sockets per bed) with an uninterruptable power supply for essential equipment.

Oxygen (4), medical air (2), and high (2) and low (2) pressure suction outlets must be available for every bed.

• The bed areas should have natural daylight and patients and staff should ideally have an outside view.

• Communications systems include an adequate number of telephones, intercom systems to allow bed-to-bed communication, and a system to

control entry to the department.

• Computer networks should enable communication with central hospital administration, laboratory and radiology systems, and the internet.

Other areas required

Other areas include adequate storage space, separate clean-treatment and dirty utility/sluice areas, offi ces, laboratory, seminar room, cleaners’ room, staff rest room, staff change and locker room, toilets and shower facilities, relatives’ area including a quiet area for grieving family, and an interview room.