PATIENTS with life-threatening health conditions are being treated at a new £21.3 million critical care unit at a Sheffield hospital.
The Northern General Hospital unit cares for badly-injured patients after accidents, or people suffering serious illnesses such as multi-organ failure.
Now staff and patients have praised the unit, which has been open for a few months.
Sylvia J
ones, aged 68, from Barnsley, who was treated after having a hip replacement, has a heart problem which needed additional care.
She said: "I've very pleased with the care I've received."
Patients with life-threatening illness are looked after in intensive care and, when they improve, in high dependency, both in the critical care unit.
Staff at the 36-bed unit provide post-operative care to patients who need close monitoring after surgery.
The hi-tech unit, set on two floors, replaces the old intensive care facilities and was designed to be light, airy and spacious.
Beds are organised into bays of one, two or four beds with medical equipment close at hand. Each bed has a pendant from the ceiling linked up to electrics, medical gases, ventilators and suction equipment, making the facilities far less cluttered than traditional intensive care wards.
Facilities include monitors and patient information systems, which automatically record details such as heart rate, breathing, and when the patient receives medication.
Lead nurse Catherine Bailey said the hi-tech equipment frees up time as nurses no longer need to make handwritten notes and can spend more time with patients.
Adjoining single rooms are separated by glass which, at the flick of a switch, can be turned from clear to opaque and back. The glass is more hygienic than curtains, and privacy between patients can be adjusted.
Adapted bathrooms mean patients on a ventilator can shower, and a courtyard area available for patients and relatives gives them a break from the hospital environment.
Offices, labs, a pharmacy and meeting rooms are in the building, which has its own power supply and back-up generators.
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