Critical Care (Cardiac)

Our Area:

This is 16 bedded Cardiac Critical Care unit comprising of 10 Intensive Care beds and 6 High Dependency beds. This unit provides care to patients undergoing various cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgical procedures.

Why work for us?

The unit has a friendly welcoming environment and has a large team providing a varied amount of expertise and experience. Our staff have access to specialised induction programmes which run alongside the trust preceptorship and an extensive period of clinical support. Staff will follow the National Competency Framework for critical care Step 1, as well as have training and competency assessment on specific advanced cardiac therapies. There is an in-house development programme and a leadership rotation into our HDU unit to enable staff to gain co-ordination and team leading skills.

Staff have access to the Critical Care Modules to gain the 60 credit award and have the opportunity to apply for our in house Cardiothoracic Surgical Care module (40 credits level 6) which encompasses a clinical rotation through cardiac and thoracic clinical areas.

Our staff are encouraged to participate in mentorship and are supported to gain this qualification through Plymouth University.

The 26 bed general ICU/Critical Care has over 1750 admissions per annum and employs almost 200 staff. The Critical care unit comprises of Pencarrow; a 10 bed neuro-surgical trauma unit andPenrose, the 16 bed general Critical Care. Both units care for level 2 and level 3 patients as defined by The Department of Health (Comprehensive Critical Care, 2001). The critical care environment is a constantly changing field with emerging technologies and therapies to aid patient recovery through the onslaught of often life-threatening illness. Nurses need to ensure they develop and maintain competence in practice to meet the challenges presented

Nursing staff new to General and Neuro ICU will undergo the Critical Care Induction Programme; a 6 day course of study designed to ensure that you have the knowledge and understanding to safely practice within ICU. You will be expected to complete the National Competency Framework for Adult Critical Care Nurse step 1 competencies within their first year. Following the completion of step 1 competencies nursing staff will be encourage to undertake the 60 credit award in critical care nursing. This award consists of 3 modules run in partnership with the university of Plymouth. This award is validated and transferable and utilises the Steps 2 & 3 national competencies which will provide you with the appropriate underpinning knowledge and understanding to inform your practice. The General critical care also has an established Advanced Critical Care practitioner training programme in place for those wishing to advance their career down this route. We also have a 16 bedded Cardiac Critical Care unit comprising of 10 ITU and 6 HDU beds. This unit provides care to patients undergoing various cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgical procedures. The unit is a friendly welcoming environment to work in and has a large team providing a vast amount of expertise and experience. Our staff have access to a specialised induction programme which is run alongside the trust preceptorship and an extensive supernumery and supervised period of support. Staff will follow the National Competency Framework for critical care Step 1, as well as have training and competency assessment on specific advanced cardiac therapies. We run an in-house development programme and a leadership rotation into our HDU unit to enable staff to gain co-ordination and team leading skills. Staff also have access to the Critical Care Modules to gain the 60 credit award and have the opportunity to apply for our in house Cardiothoracic Surgical Care module (40 credits level 6) which encompasses a clinical rotation through cardiac and thoracic clinical areas. Our staff are encouraged to participate in mentorship and are supported to gain this qualification through Plymouth University.