Major responsibilities of the liaison nurse service

• Assess the needs of patients discharged from the Intensive Care Unit and address these through the provision of integrated care
• Assess the needs and assist in the transfer of patients requiring admission to the Critical Care (CC) from the general wards, Emergency Department and post-anaesthetic care unit
• Provide clinical support and guidance to the ward staff responsible for the care of complex patients eg patients with high oxygen requirements, tracheostomies and requiring total parental nutrition
• Assist with the timely admission and discharge of patients
• Assist with the maintenance of a safe physical environment within the general wards, especially with equipment set ups, troubleshooting and implementing solutions
• Attend cardiac arrest and other major medical calls
• Facilitate discussion and exchange of ideas which contribute to effective problem solving
• Assess and support parenteral feeding within the ICU and wards
• Undertake research/quality activities and data collection in relation to the ICU liaison/pain management role

Other outreach services provided by the intensive care staff include:

• Medical emergency team
• Cardiac arrest (code blue) team
• Major trauma team
• Nutritional service (parenteral and enteral feeding)
• Tracheostomy Care Service
• Pre-admission clinic
• Outpatients clinic