Intensive Care Unit

Our adult intensive care units bring together specialist doctors in intensive care (intensivists), critical care nurses, specialised physiotherapists and a wider team to support patients who require intensive monitoring or whose lives are at risk from serious illness or injury. The team uses organ-support technology for the most seriously ill patients in our Dubai and Abu Dhabi hospitals. We care for each person around the clock and support their recovery until they are ready to step down towards a ward.

What is an intensive care unit?

An intensive care unit, or ICU, is a hospital ward for adults who need close monitoring or are seriously ill and require support for failing organs. It cares for the sickest patients: people recovering from major surgery, or those with conditions such as sepsis or organ failure. A specially trained doctor in intensive care medicine, called an intensivist, leads the team, while other specialists such as surgeons or physicians are constantly involved until each patient steps down to a ward.

Who is intensive care for?

People come to intensive care from many parts of the hospital. Adults are usually admitted when:

• They are recovering from major or complex surgery
• They have a serious infection (sepsis) such as severe pneumonia
• They suffer failure of one or more organs, such as the lungs, heart or kidneys
• They have been in a major accident, with severe injuries or burns
• They have difficulty in breathing requiring high oxygen supplementation or a breathing machine (ventilator)
• They suffer a sudden emergency such as a heart attack, stroke or cardiac arrest needs close support

Some patients are admitted straight from the emergency department or after a major operation; others are transferred from a general ward if they become more unwell. Because intensive care follows a referral from the team already looking after you, it isn't a service you book. Your hospital doctors decide together when this level of care is needed, and when you're well enough to step down. You and your loved ones are constantly kept informed about every step in your treatment journey.

What to expect

In intensive care, you'll be looked after very closely, with one nurse caring for only one or two patients. Monitoring equipment track your vital signs around the clock, and tubes and lines give the fluids, medicines and nutrition your body needs while you recover. Many patients need a ventilator to help them breathe, along with medicines to keep them comfortable and help control pain.

Treatment supports the failing organs while the body recovers, from breathing support to dialysis for the kidneys. As you improve, you may move to a high dependency unit or a general ward before going home. Recovery can take time, so the team explains each step to you and your family and plans any rehabilitation you need.

Intensive care at Mediclinic

Our adult intensive care units are led by consultant intensivists and are open around the clock. Critical care nurses work alongside respiratory therapists, physiotherapists and dieticians, so each patient's needs are covered by the multi-disciplinary team. All our units units run a consultant-led model, with an ICU specialist physically in the hospital day and night. High dependency beds provide a step between intensive care and the ward.

We provide organ support such as mechanical ventilation and dialysis, along with detailed monitoring of the heart and circulation. Bedside monitors follow each patient's heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and other vital signs around the clock. Our units also take referrals from specialities such as neurosurgery, cardiac surgery and stroke care. Rapid response teams, led by intensive care staff, attend patients who deteriorate elsewhere in the hospital to provide urgent care when needed.