Rapid deployment of virtual ICU support during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many serious challenges to the clinical workplace, and was a catalyst to novel approaches to the way in which we practice medicine. These challenges include extreme numbers of critically ill patients overwhelming many intensive care units, how to maintain the flow of communication between clinicians, patients and their families, and how to prevent the spread of infection working on quarantined units in personal protective equipment. The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals deployed a series of digital solutions to try to address some of those challenges and a series of case studies describes their clinical application in three clinical domains: communicating with families, clinical communication between clinicians and the delivery of clinical education.