Supporting ward staff in acute care areas: expanding the service

Critical care services face significant change over the next five years; pressure on intensive care unit beds continues to escalate. As a result of service demands, there are still an increasing number of highly dependent patients being cared for in general ward areas, placing increasing pressures on the multi-professional team. There is now national recognition of these changing service requirements and wide-ranging proposals for improving the continuity and quality of care provided for critically ill patients within the NHS. The role of Clinical Nurse Educator Critical Care within one acute Trust over an 18-month period is reflected on and current expansion of the service in light of these national initiatives is explored.