Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Type of Unit

The Intensive Care Service consists of four sections which function in collaboration with each other. General, Neuroscience, Cardiothoracic intensive cares and High Dependency make up the four sections, with 48 funded beds, although there is a capacity for 54 beds.

RPAH specialises in looking after patients with liver disease who may require transplantation, and supporting the other quarternary roles of the hospital. The service treats patients requiring ventilatory support, cardiac monitoring, renal replacement therapies including dialysis and post neurosurgical and cardiothoracic surgery patients

Unit Services

General ICU
This is a 16 ventilated bed unit. A full range of ICU patients are treated here including major complex surgery, liver transplants, trauma and neurovascular patients. Royal Prince Alfred ICU is a major referral hospital for rural patients, being the default tertiary hospital for the Greater Western area of NSW. The department also admits patients who have deteriorated from the wards. The unit has also begun retrieving patients for ECMO (extra corporeal mechanical oxygenation), used as a salvage therapy for patients with overwhelming lung injury.

Neurosciences ICU
10 bedded ICU and HDU, with the majority of the case mix being elective neurosurgery. The unit will also take patients from Emergency Department and interhospital transfers with single organ brain injury, and is one of the main centres for patients presenting with subarachnoid haemorrhages, who require neurovascular intervention.

Cardiovascular ICU
11 bedded ICU catering mostly for emergency and elective heart and chest surgery. The patient mix exposes the staff to various assist devises; such as intra aortic balloon pumps, ventricular assist devises and ECMO.

Unit Staff

The Intensive Care Service has an extensive network of dedicated nursing , medical and allied health staff who work in multidisciplinary teams to support patients. There are 212 full time equivalent nurses, supported by 3 Clinical Nurse Educators and a Clinical Nurse Consultant. Each unit has a NUM, except the HDU which is managed by the GICU NUM, and there is an after hours NUM for the floor at all other times. There are ward administrative officers for the each unit in working hours and one at weekends. Ward assistants work across the floor on a rotating roster basis, 24 hours a day. There is a Nurse Manager, for the floor, who has oversight of all nursing and ancillary staff.

Allied support specifically for the Intensive care service includes physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dieticians, social workers, aboriginal liaison officers and a pastoral care worker.

The unit is well covered by senior medical staff with 10 Intensive Care Certified staff specialists, 7 advanced trainee registrars and approximately 20 other medical staff. There is an advanced trainee registrar on site 24 hours a day, with a several staff specialists always on-call. Junior doctors staff each unit around the clock. The Intensive Care Medical and Nursing Team works in a close relationship with the patient’s admitting team, to provide the most effective and appropriate treatment.

Visitor Services

Expectations of Visitors

At the entrance to the Intensive Care Service is a reception area, manned from 07:30 – 22:00 Mon to Sunday. Visitors are asked to present there, and the reception staff check with nursing staff if visitors can come to the bed side. The Intensive Care Service requests that only 2 people visit at any one time unless there are mitigating circumstances.

Visiting Hours

There are no set visiting hours, although it is encouraged that visitors to come between 10am – 8pm, with a quiet time between 12 – 2pm.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are not to be used within the Intensive Care Service.

Flowers

It is requested that visitors do not bring flowers while patients are in the intensive care as they are not allowed on the floor.

Visitor Accommodation

There is no hospital accommodation near the Intensive Care Service. The hospital has hostel type rooms in an accommodation in Ashfield, 15 minutes away by car. However, there are a number of hotels and motels around Camperdown and Newtown many of which offer discounts to patient’s relatives.

Hospital shop / Canteen

The hospital has 2 canteens, on level 4 and 5, with the hospital shop next door in the main building. The hospital is also close to a number of cafes and a short walk to King Street.

ATM

There is one ATM on level 5, in the main foyer area

Phones

There are public phones in the main foyer of the hospital on level 5

Parking

There is limited public parking in a carpark behind the King George V building, costing a flat rate of $5.

Finding the ICU

Intensive Care Service is located on level 3 of the main building. Take the lifts from the main foyer area on level 5.

How To Get To Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

A map of the hospitals's location is below. A more detailed map can be found at the Whereis Online WebSite.