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Home > Services > John Farman Intensive Care Unit > For Visitors For Visitors |
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For Visitors to the ICU
Infection Control on the John Farman ICU
On entering and leaving the ICU, we ask that all visitors wash their hands and use the alcohol gel at the ward entrance. This is to help keep the ICU clean and to help prevent the spread of infection to other areas of the hospital. It protects the ICU patients, you and other contacts.
Related pages: Infection Control
Frequently asked questions
1. Who can visit a patient staying in ICU? Most patients who are staying in intensive care are not in a position to tell us who they would, or would not, like to visit them. It is, therefore, customary for the ICU staff to ask the patient’s next of kin who is permitted to visit.
2. Who is the 'next of kin'? The next of kin is defined by the patient themselves. When the patient has been able to nominate someone as next of kin, it is to this person that we would turn to for advice about the patient's care. The next of kin does not need to be related to the patient, if they are nominated by the patient. If the patient has not had the opportunity to nominate anybody as 'next of kin', we would prefer to seek advice from whoever we believe to be 'closest' to the patient and best able to reflect their wishes, for example their current partner or closest relative.
3. Can friends of patients visit them in ICU? If you would like to visit someone who is a patient staying in the John Farman Intensive Care Unit, and you are not a relation, please ask the patient's next of kin if you may visit. The ICU staff can give you the contact details of this person, on request.
4. Who shouldn't visit patients in ICU? For the safety and well-being of our patients and their visitors, we discourage visits from:
5. Our policy on children visiting patients staying in ICU
6. When can I visit a patient staying in ICU? Visits to the ICU are allowed at any time, except during the consultants' ward rounds (see below) and when we are giving treatment, taking X-rays etc.
7. How long can I stay? You may spend as long as you wish at the patient's bedside. However, do bear in mind that both you and the person you are visiting will need to rest. Don't feel that you have to spend extended periods of time, especially when the patient is unconscious. It can be useful to rest as much as possible while patients are unconscious, so you can have more energy later on when they might need you more. You can always 'phone for an update.
 8. When are consultants' ward rounds? Visitors are not allowed on the ICU during the consultants' morning ward round, which takes place from 0900 to 1230, every day (including Saturdays and Sundays). This might seem inconvenient, but the ICU is small, and it would be impossible for ICU staff to discuss each patient's progress without other patients' relatives overhearing what was being said. This, as we are sure you will understand, would be a breach of every patient's right to medical confidentiality. Sometimes, ward rounds can last past 1230, and visitors will be asked to wait in the Visitors' Room. If we know you are waiting during the ward round, we can call you in at the end of the round. In certain circumstances, visitors may visit during the morning ward round, for example if the patient is dying or treatment has been withdrawn, or when a patient is first admitted to intensive care. There is also an afternoon ward round from 1500 to 1630 every day (including Saturdays and Sundays). During the afternoon ward round, visitors will be asked to leave just while the doctors are seeing the patients in each bay.
9. Can I visit a patient as soon as they are admitted to the ICU? It can take anything up to two hours to stabilise a patient following admission to ICU. We know you are anxious to see your relative as soon as possible, but the staff need to be allowed to concentrate all their efforts on attending to the patient. Telephone enquiries and requests to visit at this time can also be very distracting.
10. How many visitors? Usually, only two visitors are allowed at the bedside at any one time, so that the presence of visitors does not interfere with the care of the patients.
11. Why are some patients cared for in side rooms and some in bays of the main unit? Some patients would benefit from care in a side room away from other patients. At other times, patients are admitted where there is space on the ICU. Being in a side room does not mean that the patient is more or less ill.
12. When can I enquire about the patient by 'phone?  Patients are staying on the ICU because they need high levels of care and attention from the nursing and medical staff. Responding to multiple telephone calls can distract the staff from this care. It is, therefore, helpful if telephone enquiries are only made by one person, the 'nominated contact'.
13. Who can phone for updates? Shortly after a patient is admitted to the ICU, the staff will need to identify a member of the family (or friend) as the 'nominated contact' to make and receive telephone calls about the patient and pass this information on to family and friends. It is helpful if you discuss good times to 'phone for updates eg avoiding times when the nursing staff are handing over from one shift to the next.
14. When can I speak to a doctor? If you would like to speak to any of the medical staff, just ask the nurse looking after your relative. Dr Park regularly sees relatives on Tuesdays: 1200 to 1300, and Dr Mackenzie regularly sees relatives on Fridays: 1300 to 1500.
15. Who is the nurse-in charge? For every shift, the ICU has a nominated nurse-in-charge, who is either a senior staff nurse (SSN) or sister. To find out who the nurse-in-charge is, ask either the nurse looking after your relative, the ward clerk, or look on the white board behind the reception desk.
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Last updated: 18 July, 2007
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