Critical Care

Critical care is the care given to a critically ill patient during a medical emergency or crisis. Critical care services are available at Sandwell and City hospitals.

People may be cared for on one of our critical care units because they need close observation, monitoring and treatment that cannot be done on a normal ward.

Team

The Critical Care Team is made up of highly skilled consultants, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, dietitians, radiologists, pharmacists and many more.

Critical Care Consultants:
Dr Imran Ahmed
Dr Anand Arora
Dr Jana Bellin
Dr Vincent Bulso
Dr John Bleasdale
Dr Nelson Carter
Dr John Clift
Dr John Hulme
Dr Soteroula Kanari
Dr Santhana Kannan
Dr Zaid Khan
Dr Emma Leno
Dr Angus Mackenzie
Dr David Newbould
Dr Mumta Patel
Dr Rupali Saluja
Dr Nick Sherwood

Critical Care Senior Nurses:
Janka Webb (Nurse Consultant)
Rebecca O’Dwyer
Jo Wakeman
Janet Cushnie

 

Services

Critical care units
Our two critical care units each have 16 beds and provide specialist treatment and care for the most seriously unwell patients. The units care for both males and females and we make every effort to maintain privacy and dignity at all times.

Every patient in critical care will have a consultant who is responsible for their treatment. The level of nursing care a patient in critical care needs will depend on their condition. Some patients will need a nurse to look after them at all times, and others may share a nurse with another patient. We continually assess our patient’s needs throughout the day to make sure they are given the most appropriate care.

Outreach
The critical care outreach team (consisting of critical care nurses) also assist ward staff in caring for their
most critically ill patients to prevent their condition from worsening and to administer prompt treatment and refer the patient to the critical care unit if needed. The outreach team is also involved in reviewing patients who have been discharged from critical care to the ward, but who still need observation.

Follow-up support service
We also offer a follow-up support service to continue giving our patients support after they have left critical care and when they have returned home. This service offers patients the opportunity to discuss any physical or mental worries they may have both before and after being discharged from hospital so that appropriate support can be arranged.

Patient and carer forum
A critical care patient and carer forum/support group is held 4 times a year which provides the opportunity for patients and carers to talk about their experiences of critical care with members of our team.

Patient Stories

Please feel free to share your experiences of this service. Please e-mail your views to swbh.comms@nhs.net

Patient Information

Useful websites

Intensive Care Society (see ‘patients & relatives’)
www.ics.ac.uk

NHS Choices
www.nhs.uk/conditions/Intensive-care/

Contacts

If you have a relative or friend being cared for on one of our units, a nominated friend or family member is welcome to call us any time, day or night. When you contact the unit the receptionist will put you through to the nurse who is looking after them. Due to confidentiality we cannot give detailed information over the phone.

City Hospital Critical Care
0121 507 5099 or 0121 507 5098

Sandwell Hospital Critical Care
0121 507 3311

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