A national survey of intensive care follow-up clinics.
Intensive care follow-up clinics allow extended review of survivors of critical illness. However, the current provision of intensive care follow-up clinics in the UK is unknown. We performed a survey of intensive care follow-up clinic practice in the UK. A questionnaire was sent to 298 intensive care units in the UK to determine the number of follow-up clinics and details of current follow-up practice. Responses were received from 266 intensive care units, an 89% response rate. Eighty units (30%) ran a follow-up clinic. Only 47 (59%) of these clinics were funded. Of those intensive care units without a follow-up clinic, 158 (88%) cited 'financial constraints' as the reason. Over half of the follow-up clinics (44 clinics, 55%) were nurse-led, and the majority (56 clinics, 77%) only routinely review patients treated on the intensive care unit for 3 or 4 days or longer. Nearly half of the follow-up clinics (39 clinics, 49%) have pre-negotiated access to at least one other out-patient service.
Griffiths
J A
JA
Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. john.griffiths@nda.ox.ac.uk
Barber
V S
VS
Cuthbertson
B H
BH
Young
J D
JD
D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy; D005378:Financial Support; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom