About Frankston Hospital ICU
The Frankston Hospital Intensive Care Unit is a 10 bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which admits more than 800 intensive care and high dependency patients annually. The ICU is affiliated with Monash and Deakin Universities and provides modern and up to date care. It is a level III accredited Intensive Care Unit (JFICM) and provides services which include: renal replacement therapy, intra-aortic balloon pump, nitric oxide therapy, and can accommodate ECMO therapy.
In 2009, the ICU was funded for eight beds and admission comprised a mix of ICU and HDU patients. During the 2008/2009 financial year, Frankston Hospital Intensive Care Unit admitted over 800 patients.
Frankston Hospital has recently received $45 million dollars of funding from the Victorian government to extensively redevelop available services. These include a new theatre complex, recovery suite and a state-of-the-art, modern ICU development that will increase the bed capacity to 13. Building is underway with an expected date of completion in late 2010.
ICU Staff
Each day the unit is staffed by an intensivist, a senior registrar and a resident. Associate Professor John Botha is the Director of the Intensive Care Unit, and the senior ICU consulting team consists of Dr. Kavi Haji, Dr. Himangsu Gangopadhyay, Associate Professor Ian Carney and Associate Professor David Langton. During 2008/2009 there were six registrars and one resident rotating through the unit during any given period of time. The unit is classified as a C12 unit by the College of Critical Care Medicine for advanced training in intensive care.
The Nurse Unit Manager is Ms Sue Reaper, who is assisted by an experienced team of associate nurse managers (ANUM). Each shift is managed by an ANUM who is supported by a team leader. There are approximately 80 nurses employed in the ICU. Each member of the senior management team maintains a portfolio, including Quality, eLearning, Equipment, and various other administrative roles which ensures our standards of practice are current, evidence-based and are introduced to improve care for patients admitted.
True multidisciplinary care is provided with dedicated pharmacists, dieticians, physiotherapists and speech therapists constituting an integral part of the ICU team.
The Intensive Care Unit has a dedicated nurse educator, who facilitates new staff and critical care students. Education in the ICU is recognised as a vital part of our practise, and Frankston Hospital ICU seeks to meet the educational needs of all staff. Education days are provided and staff are encouraged to attend. There is an active medical training program for all medical staff and the BASIC course is conducted on site four times a year. Access to the simulation centre compliments the educational program.
The ICU actively participates in research, and there are two research coordinators employed by the unit who coordinate both investigator-initiated and industry studies. The research department is a member of the ANZICS Clinical Trials Group.
There is also a dedicated database manager employed in the ICU and all admissions are recorded and the data is submitted to the ANZICS database. This data is also used for mortality and morbidity meetings and research projects.
Innovations and future directions
The hospital has recently introduced the Critical Care Liaison Nurse service, which is available seven days a week. The Liaison Nurses follow up all patients discharged from intensive care to the wards, and provide support to ward nurses through ongoing education. This service also provides prompt assessment of deteriorating patients on the ward thus enabling early intervention for deteriorating patients. Through this service re-admission rates to ICU and patient outcomes should improve.
Frankston Hospital has also been targeted as a hospital that will participate in a nationwide initiative to improve the rate of organ donation. In 2009 an intensivist and critical care nurse were appointed to champion organ donation initiatives on site.
The Department has entered an exciting new era of development and it is envisaged that with new facilities and a commitment to high quality research and evidence based practice Frankston ICU will continue to provide outstanding care of the critically ill.
