User:John24601/critical care

Critical care is a medical specialty which deals with care of the most seriously ill patients. It relies on specialist input from doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, paramedics, radiographers and medical scientists, amongst many others.

Traditionally the remit of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), critical care is now commonly provided in a number of settings, including in ambulances, emergency departments, high dependency units, coronary care units, operating theatres, and hospital wards.

Critical care providers typically treat patients who require intensive support of one or more failing organ systems. This can include patients with Pneumonia, serious trauma, heart failure, respiratory failure, renal failure and a number of other conditions.

Levels of critical care
Critical care is provided throughout a range of in-hospital and out-of-hospital settings, each tailored to the care of specific patients.

Intensive Care Unit
Intensive care is considered to be the highest level of critical care. Such units usually provide one or more nurses per patient, as well as a high degree of medical cover, and input from pharmacists and physiotherapists/respiratory therapists, as well as a range of other healthchare practitioners is constantly available.

Patients are admitted to intensive care if they require support of more than one failing organ/system, or require invasive mechanical ventilation and airway management.

High Dependency Unit
Also known as "step-down" units, these areas provide a level of care between that of the general ward and the intensive care unit. They generally support patients who are seriously ill and are more demanding on nursing time than the ward staff can accommodate, but who do not need advanced airway management/artificial ventilation, or high levels of organ support.

They are also often used as a "step down" area, to which patients are admitted following an ICU stay before being released onto the general wards.