Meet the team

There are nine cardiac consultants who provide continuous cover. They are supported by anaesthetic specialist registrars and fellows who provide 24-hour care.

The unit also works closely with the doctors from Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology and Congenital Cardiac Services.

The day-to-day running of the unit is managed by a team of more than 90 specialist nurses.

They include:

• One matron 
• Six senior sisters or charge nurses
• Eight sisters
• Eight shift leaders
• More than 110 nurses
• One practice development nurse
• One clinical educator

There will be up to 17 nurses working on the unit all the time. They work on a shift pattern, with changes at 8am and 8pm.

All the nurses undergo months of specialist critical care training before they begin looking after seriously ill patients. They operate under a mentorship scheme and have intensive and on-the-job training from qualified educators as well as senior staff.

The nurses are also split into five teams to make management easier. Each team has a responsibility for looking at long-term improvement in patient care, including the care of post-op patients and the care of patients with congenital heart problems.

Also working within the Cardiac ICU team are:

• Dedicated physiotherapists
• Consultant pharmacists
• A microbiologist
• Four technicians, responsible for equipment management
• Two ward clerks
• A cleaning team working with one housekeeper
• Auditors responsible for collating data for the unit
• A member of the hospital's pastoral care team
• Trainee doctors
• A clinical educator
• A dedicated infection control sister