Holistic care of a critically ill child

This paper describes two different models of nursing that have been used to care for children in hospital, emphasising how such care is planned and delivered. Although it began as an academic exercise, it is hoped that in using the ideas contained in it nurses involved in the care of critically ill children could begin to look at alternative methods of planning and delivering holistic care. In particular it is suggested that more traditional methods of care planning may not always provide enough reference to the important psychosocial and developmental needs of each child in an intensive care unit (ICU).