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Detailed Needs and Requirements: Intensive Care Units
Some patients in intensive care and cardiac care units are fed
intravenously; however, many will be served meals and between-meal
snacks at the bedside.
Many patients are attached to physiological monitoring leads,
intravenous fluid tubes, respirators, wound and airway suction, and
other devices. Any movement of a patient which would require these
monitoring or life support devices to be disconnected may be
dangerous; therefore, activities such as bathing, toileting, receiving
visitors, etc, may be carried on in the bed or the immediate bed area.
In some cases bedside facilities may be available for such activities,
e.g. bedside commodes and bathing facilities. Patients may be
encouraged to use such out-of-bed facilities if their condition permits.
Diagnostic or treatment procedures which require relocation of patients
and removal from monitoring and life support devices should be
minimized.
Some patients in intensive care units may have infectious conditions.
These patients should be physically isolated from other patients.
Facilities for handwashing and storage for clean and soiled gowns and
masks should be available at the point of access to and/or within
isolation spaces. Relative air pressures should insure minimal
movement of air from the isolated area to other patient or staff areas.
Other patients may require isolation because of extreme susceptibility
to infection, e.g. burn patients. The isolation facilities and precautions
required for these patients are similar to those described above, with
the exception that air flow patterns should be reversed.
2. Physicians
While one specialist may assume general responsibility for providing
emergency coverage and consultative service on an intensive or
cardiac care unit, programs for the care of individual patients are
generally established by their attending physicians. These attending
physicians may visit their patients frequently and are called in times of
emergency.
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