Critical care manual of clinical procedures and competencies

Critical care services support the most seriously ill patients in hospital and provide care for patients needing specialist and intensive treatment following major surgery, serious accidents or acute illness.

Increasingly these patients are being cared for on general wards and there is an expectation that all practitioners are able to manage the complex clinical needs of such patients and assess, recognise, interpret patient data and respond appropriately within a multi-professional approach to care.

This manual is aimed at all health care practitioners who care for the critically ill patient from novice to expert, recognising that disciplines contribute to the provision of effective care and that essential knowledge and skills are shared by all practitioners.

It provides guidelines on core critical care procedures based on the 'best' available evidence for each procedure and includes a comprehensive competency framework to enable practitioners to assess their competence and expertise in core critical care procedures.Each chapter provides a comprehensive overview, beginning with basic principles and progressing to more complex ideas, to enable practitioners to develop their knowledge, skills and competencies in critical care.