Intensive Care Fees

What is Intensive Care?

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a specialised area in a hospital where patients are admitted because they are very ill and/or require close observation and monitoring by highly trained doctors and nurses. Patient care often involves complex life-support measures such as breathing machines (ventilators), drugs and/or pumps to support the heart, and kidney dialysis.

In Australia, intensive care specialists (‘Intensivists’) need to complete formal specialist training in intensive care medicine (minimum six years) in addition to their medical degree.

In addition to caring for patients within an ICU, Intensivists have become the ‘safety net’ for hospitals, providing a wide range of acute care services throughout the hospital, such as emergency calls, resuscitation services (such as cardiac arrest), and ward consultations.

The provision of safe and high quality care to patients in general hospital wards is now highly dependent upon a functional and effective ICU supported by highly trained Intensivists.

 An Intensive Care Unit may also be referred to as;

Critical Care Unit

Intensive Therapy Unit

A High Dependency Unit (HDU) or Step Down Unit (SDU) usually forms part of the ICU