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Info for Family & Friends
Having a loved one in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can sometimes be incredibly difficult and scary for a whole range of reasons. Below is a whole heap of information for those people visiting our ICU.
We hope that the information we have provided helps to explain some of the things you may come across in the Intensive Care environment. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask any of our staff.
General ICU Info
Our Intensive Care has two pods - both with 12 beds.
Beds 1-12 are located in ICU 1
Beds 13-24 are located in ICU 2
The phone number to ring for all patient inquiries is (02) 4734 1166.
Please be aware however, that we generally don't give out detailed information about our patients in Intensive Care over the phone.
Please wash your hands.
On your way in and on your way out... if you can keep your germs, we would like to also keep ours. There may also be times that we ask you to wear a mask, gown or gloves to protect yourself or the patient.
We would also recommend not bringing a newborn into the Intensive Care - there are lot of bugs in here and we would hate to pass something onto your new baby.
Food & Drink
If your loved one is able to eat and drink, please feel free to bring them in something that you know they would like to eat. Please just bring one meal/drink at a time, as we have very little fridge space to store food. Make sure though, that you check with the nursing staff that eating and drinking is OK - lots of our patients are not allowed to eat or drink - even though they may look like they can!
We also ask that you refrain from eating or drinking yourself in the unit. Spills happen easily, and our patients don't really like to sit there watching you eat your delicious looking food while they are not allowed to have anything.
What should I bring in?
A bag of basic toiletries always helps us out - a toothbrush, some toothpaste, shampoo, deoderant, some body moisturiser - but you can leave the rest of the luggage at home! You can always bring it all in when your loved one leaves ICU to go to the ward.
If your loved one has been here awhile, a favourite book, a magazine, the paper, a favourite teddy or knick knack may also be appreciated.
Wanting to read more information?
If you would like to read information on diseases/health topics, COVID-19 or critical care and critical illness, clicking the below links will redirect you to reliable sources of information.
Our Visiting Rules
1. Visiting hours
Due to the evolving COVID situation in NSW, Nepean Hospital has significant restrictions on visitors to the hospital. In the event your loved one is admitted to the ICU, it is important you call first, to see if you are allowed to visit or not. Currently, visiting hours are Monday to Sunday, 11:00 am to 8:00 pm. A maximum of 2 visitors per patient, per day. Visitors must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
2. No phones, no flowers
Did you know flowers can be an infection risk to our already sick patients? We always have patients in the Intensive Care with lung infections, asthma or pneumonia and the pollens from flowers can make their condition worse. Please feel free to bring personalised items such as a card, drawing or a photo instead.
We do also ask that phones are either off or on silent mode. If you need to make or take a phone call, please do so in the corridor or in the waiting room.
Please don't use your phones to take photos. Whilst we understand that you may want to show someone how sick your relative is, however most people when they are better do not want photos of when they were unconscious or looking terrible shared around. This is also a privacy law issue.
3. Please buzz and wait
Sometimes you will need to wait for a while but it is because we are busy with your loved one. This could be because we are doing a procedure, giving a wash/shower or sitting them out of bed.
These things often require lots of people and equipment and the bedspace is already very full!
Being an advocate for your loved one and maintaining as much dignity and respect for our patients is our priority.