Our critical care department is for our patients who have serious or sometimes life threatening conditions.
Contact details
Critical Care (ICU and HDU): 01604 545885 and 01604 545544
How to find us
Please note from June 2022 the unit has moved to Area E.
Critical Care is located in area E.
Critical Care is the first ward on your left as you enter the building via South entrance. Walk through the new entrance and you will see the visitor entrance straight ahead of you.
From the Billing Road entrance, proceed along the corridor until you reach a T-junction. Turn left and follow the corridor, bearing right when you pass the PALS office and continuing past the Oncology Centre, until you come to the Hospital Street junction. Turn left. Carry on along Hospital Street, passing the chapel and pharmacy, until the corridor opens up on the right. Turn right and continue towards the exit past Abington ward. The Critical Care unit is located on the right before the left turn to the exit.
Visiting critical care
Our visiting times are from 13.00 - 19.00. This can be altered at the discretion of the nurse in charge.
Your visits may be interrupted by required treatments or examinations and you may be asked to wait in the visitor’s area.
Please feel free to phone us at any time. However it would be helpful to nominate one or two members of the family for phone calls. The information we can give over the phone will be limited. A password system can be set up if more detailed information is required.
Please wash your hands every time you enter and leave critical care to minimise the spread of infection. At times, you may be asked to wear aprons, gloves or masks. The nurse or doctor on the ward will explain the reasons for this.
Please do not visit if you are ill. If you have had diarrhoea or vomiting, please wait 48 hours after the last episode before visiting again. Please discuss with the nurse in charge before bringing in young children.
We understand that visiting critical care can be a worrying and stressful experience, however our team will do all they can to ensure you feel calm and can be with your loved one.
What happens in critical care?
Our team have produced a booklet to explain what happens in the critical care department. You can download the booklet by clicking on the link below.
A guide to what happens in critical care.
Taking care of yourself
It is very important at this difficult time that you take care of yourself. We would advise that you take lots of breaks, eat well and rest. In most circumstances we would encourage you to go home to sleep. We will always inform you of any significant changes and you can ring anytime for reassurance.
Local hotels
The Sunley Hotel are offering special rates for friends and relatives of patients at the hospital and to staff who are in need of accommodation. Please quote ‘Hospital’ when booking.
Monday -Thursday £65.00 room only. This is per room, per night and includes VAT.
Friday – Sunday £55.00 room only. This is per room, per night and includes VAT
All rooms are doubles with king sized bed and are en-suite. You can view the hotel at www.sunleyhotel.com
Support for you
The critical care service provides support for you and your loved one throughout their time in critical care.
We have a follow up nurse in the department who helps patients and their relatives to cope with the experience of being in the critical care department. They can advise about some of the psychological consequences that our patients in critical care may experience, the team can give you a diary and guidance on how to write down your experiences.
They will also invite patients and families back to talk over their experiences after they have left critical care. This can be of great benefit and help patients and relatives to piece things together. they can provide information on the processes in critical care and signpost you to additional help in the hospital and in the community.
We are aware that you may need a lot of support during this time. Please talk to us if you are finding it difficult to cope, we're here to help.
Other support and facilities
On site we have a range of food outlets, shops and amentities available. Details of these and their opening hours can be found on the facilities and amenities page.
We can arrange for chaplains or priests from all faiths to come to critical care. There is a chapel on site serving all faiths on the ground floor opposite the resturant which is open 24/7.
The hospital has a bereavement service and we can access various other support services if required.
We can support you with a parking permit at a reduced rate and also give you information on local bus services or taxi companies. Information about how to get here and parking locations can be found here.
There are toilets located inside of the Critical Care unit. There is a dedicated relatives room within the unit which has a kitchen area, seperate toilet facilities and soft seating. There is also an overnight room with recliner chairs, a sofa bed and a wash room with shower facilities that relatives and loved ones can use.
Entry to Critical Care is by an intercom system. Please let us know if you or other family members have any disabilities that may make this difficult to use.