Subjective follow-up of patients from a surgical intensive therapy ward

One-hundred consecutive patients who had been treated in the surgical intensive therapy ward completed a form recording their impressions of their stay. Most patients had a reasonable idea of how long they had spent in the ward and few remembered being in pain or excessively worried by any of the procedures carried out. Those who had been artificially ventilated had little recollection of this period; most either did not realize that their breathing had been artificially maintained or had no idea of the duration of ventilatory support. Very few of the patients who had tracheal suction via endotracheal or tracheostomy tubes were unduly worried by this, but 60% of the patients who needed nasopharyngeal suction to help sputum clearance had been considerably worried by this.Most of the patients were very pleased with the medical and nursing attention they had received and did not find the "intensive" nature of their care unduly disturbing.