Admission to ICU

On admission to DCCM then please complete the:

Please note on the 24 hour chart if any blood tests are required (e.g. blood gases, blood tests for the following day).

Elective/Planned care

Planned care patients are admitted to DCCM following their procedure and recovery. Patients who remain ventilated at the end of a case will be admitted directly to DCCM from the operating theatre however all other patients are expected to recover in the PACU before transfer to DCCM.

When a patient arrives in DCCM the registrar should attend the patient and receive a handover. This is especially important for ventilated patients. Admission documentation should be completed including medication chart and appropriate physiological targets.

From the ward

Patients may be admitted from the ward following a code call or after referral from another team and review by the DCCM staff.

At times patients will require a medical escort from the ward due to unstable physiology or other concerns. Please advise the Red Charge Nurse as soon as possible if a patient is expected to require admission. This enables them to ensure that staff and resources are available for the patient and will minimise any delays.

Patients in the emergency department

The DCCM registrar will review patients in the emergency department who have been referred by other teams or as part of a code call.

Patients in the emergency department are under the care of the emergency team until they are admitted to DCCM.

If a patient does require admission to DCCM then please advise the Red Charge Nurse as soon as possible. This enables them to ensure that staff and resources are available for the patient and will minimise any delays.

Depending on clinical need some patients will require a medical escort from the emergency department to DCCM. This may be done by either the DCCM or emergency department staff depending on the acuity of the patient and workload.