Patients & Public
Why is research needed?
The outside ICU space in the form of a roof garden which is capable of supporting the sickest patients, will provide a very unique setting to help support the recovery of patients and their families from critical illness. It represents a significant investment and it is important to make sure we get the best use out of it. This includes working out which patients benefit most from using the facility; how long should they be outside for; and whether patients able to access the roof garden might have improved outcomes.
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Research will help us answer these questions in a way that might mean benefits can be extended to other hospitals. It may also show how we can deliver better care but with reduced cost to the NHS.
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Importantly, critical care in not just about saving lives but also returning people to their lives as quickly and completely as possible. Early access to the roof garden may improve not only physical outcomes, but alsao psychological outcomes. There may be significant benefits for the family and friends of patients who become critically ill.
What research are we doing?
We are going to do research where we ask staff, patients and relatives how they think the ICU roof garden should be used. We will develop ways of ensuring that we use the garden for the maximum benefit of patients, families and staff. This includes developing strong safety procedures.
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We also want to look at the benefits of going outside on things like heart rate, confusion ('delirium'), vitamin D levels.
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Finally we want to do a trial by comparing the outcomes of patients who use the garden versus those who do not, but do this trial in a fair way.
