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High dependency unit

Our high dependency unit has been shown to save lives and prevent the cancellation of major surgery.

Patient and staff on high dependency unit

Caring for people who are seriously ill has become a large and complex part of healthcare and requires many specialist skills to ensure we provide the best possible care for some of our most sickest – and vulnerable – patients.

The development of a 16-bedded centralised high dependency unit, caring for any patient in the hospital who needs a higher, more specialised level of care, has enabled our clinical teams to improve patient safety and incorporates both surgical and general (medical) HDU beds in one place.

Having critically ill patients cared for in one area by highly trained specialist nurses and a resident doctor immediately available has been shown to save lives, as well as improving the quality of patient care and the whole patient experience.

The expansion in beds also minimises the cancellation of major surgery that requires critical care, something which can be extremely distressing to patients and their families, as well as making better use of the ward beds.

The James Cook University Hospital supports critical life-saving regional services such as the major trauma centre, vascular surgery, neurosurgery and major abdominal surgery.

Patient outcomes at the hospital are among the best in the country for patients needing specialist services from across the region who require high level critical care.

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