Intensive Care Unit

Visiting the ICU

• ICU visits must be booked via ICU reception.
• Please speak to ICU staff for current visiting restrictions & times.
• Visitors must be 12 years or over, and book as per normal ICU visiting with an adult.
• All visitors are required to wear a mask (provided).

Too many visitors at one time can be very tiring for patients. We ask that visitors be limited to immediate family or special friends.

We may have to limit the number of people at the bedside to one or two - this is due to lack of space and to minimise any disturbance to other patients.

Please respect the privacy and confidentiality of other patients in the unit.

If you are visiting at the time of ward rounds, you may be asked to leave when the round arrives to see your loved one. This will depend on the doctor and what is happening with your relative.

You will be asked to leave when the patient needs to be examined. You will also be asked to leave when nurses handover to one another as we need to do this without any disturbances so as to make sure we concentrate and don’t miss any information as we hand over from one shift to the next.

You shouldn’t feel guilty for not being by the bedside 24 hours a day. You need to give yourself a break and this will also give the patient time to rest. The patient will be very well cared for and the staff will contact you straight away if they need to or if there is any change in their condition.

Visitors must be 12 years or over, and book as per normal ICU visiting with an adult.

You may need to consider whether a child should visit their parent or a close relative in an ICU. You should check with staff before bringing children to the unit and talk to the child about it.

If the child decides they want to go into the ICU, prepare them for what they might see, including the machines, what they do and how the patient might look. We would also advise you to bring in something to occupy them during the visit.

For more information about how to talk to your child, look at the ICU Patient Handbook.

It is important for each family to nominate one person as the contact person, who will then be able to inform family and friends of the patient’s condition. All other family members and friends can contact the nominated spokesperson for updates on the patient’s condition. This allows us to focus on caring for your loved one, and ensures that your family get given the information that they need.

The nurse looking after your loved one will be able to give you information on your loved one’s progress. Medical staff will endeavour to meet with you frequently – if you wish to meet with medical staff, please let your loved one’s nurse know.

It is helpful for you to bring in your loved one's personal toiletries such as toothbrush and toothpaste, hair brush or comb, shaving accessories or any favourite soaps, body wash and deodorant.

Feel free to bring in family photos which we can display or favourite music (CDs) which we can play.

If patient is awake and interested, we have televisions available.

There are many reasons why a critically ill patient doesn't speak. The breathing tube (endotracheal tube or tracheostomy tube) can make speaking impossible or very difficult. Often the patient receives medicine (sedation) to reduce anxiety and pain-killers, which may make them sleepy. Sometimes, your loved one’s illness may also make it difficult for them to talk or to stay awake.

Keep exchanges simple. You can help by not asking questions that require long answers and talking to your loved one in a soothing calm tone.

No. The ICU on level three opened in September 2019 to help meet our community’s increasing need for critical care services.

Both ICUs offer the same quality of treatment and care and the ICU a patient is admitted to, or transferred to during their admission, does not indicate a higher or lower level of required care.

Our reception team, located on the hospital’s ground floor near the main entrance on Commercial Road, will be able to let you know which ICU to visit and how to get there. ICU reception staff on levels one and three can also assist.

The ICU can be contacted on (03) 9076 0700.