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Article: LETTER: Resources for intensive care units
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- February 9, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Sir: The present crisis in the provision of intensive care
services in the NHS should come as no surprise ("Intensive care
units lose 20 per cent of beds", 7 February). It is a worsening of
a serious situation that has been known about for severa l years.
In 1988, the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and
Ireland published the results of an extensive survey of intensive
care units in the UK. The number of nursing staff was inadequate in
32 per cent of units. Few units had enough consultant medical
cover, and almost one in five had a bed occupancy of more than 80
per cent.
It has been recognised for over 20 years that many patients
require a level of care that is midway between ...