On the morning of February 15, the Department of Critical Care Medicine (ICU) of West China Tianfu Hospital, Sichuan University was officially opened. Director Jin Xiaodong of the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital of Sichuan University, together with members of the department's management team, conducted the final supervision and inspection of the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital, which means that the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital will soon be ready to receive critically ill patients.

It is understood that the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Tianfu Hospital has not only brought together the high-quality medical resources and talents of the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital, but also upgraded the medical wisdom, first-class equipment, environmental ecology and service, and strives to carry out the goal of “surpassing West China Hospital to run West China Tianfu Hospital”, and devotes itself to building an international first-class critical care center with warm service. 

Due to the special nature of closed management of ICU, the department will not be open to visitors after the official admission of patients. Before officially receiving patients, the author had the chance to go into the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital in advance to get a glimpse of the various highlights and “black technologies” hidden there.

The former staff from the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital are stationed.

To ensure equal-quality medical service

The Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital of Sichuan University is one of the birthplaces of critical care medicine in China. After nearly 30 years of development, it has become the largest critical care medicine department and critical care medicine research institute in China with integrated management of medical treatment, research and teaching.

In the rescue and treatment of several public health emergencies and natural disasters, the critical care team of West China Hospital have brought into full play the essence of critical care treatment, which is “assemble at the first call and be capable of fighting and winning”, and relying on their outstanding performance and contribution, they have won many honorary titles, such as “Advanced Collective in Prevention and Control of the COVID-19 Epidemic in National Health System”, “Model of the Times” of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, and “Advanced Collective in Fighting against the COVID-19 Epidemic in Sichuan Province”.

It is understood that the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Tianfu Hospital is imbued with the same spirit of the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital.

The ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital is divided into four subspecialty groups, i.e., critical care neurology, critical care cardiology, critical care surgery and critical care respiration, which are homogeneously managed with West China Hospital in terms of continuous and precise means of critical care organ assessment and support; professional respiratory treatment team, advanced respiratory monitoring and support concept; non-invasive, continuous and visualized organ function multimodal monitoring.

“The doctors, nurses, and technical backbone members of the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital are all sent from the West China Hospital headquarters.” Kang Yan, President of West China Tianfu Hospital of Sichuan University and a professor from the Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Hospital, personally participated in the design of the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital. He noted that patients can enjoy the same high level of treatment services here as in the headquarters of West China Hospital.

Various advanced hardware and software guarantee

To realize intelligent, automated diagnosis and treatment services

The ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital is located on the 3rd floor of the outpatient medical technology building, covering an area of about 7,500 square meters, with 62 comprehensive ICU beds. The spacious and bright ward environment and all kinds of high quality instruments and equipment make people feel “safe” when they first walk in. The "critical care chain management" model based on the information technology platform is a major innovation, which can realize early warning, screening and rapid treatment of critical care patients throughout the hospital, thus maximizing the safety of patients and improving the success rate of treatment.

A helipad is built on the top of the outpatient medical technology building where the Department of Critical Care Medicine is located, which is constructed according to the highest weight-bearing standard for helicopter emergency rescue and can set up an “air lifeline” for critically ill patients. The internal direct elevator connecting the helipad, operating room and emergency department will shorten the time for critically ill patients to reach the ICU to the greatest extent possible, which can save time for patients' treatment.

Considering the potential risks associated with the transfer of critically ill patients, the ICU at West China Tianfu Hospital arranges dedicated bedside CT machines, X-ray machines, portable ultrasounds, and rapid testing laboratories, allowing patients to complete most important tests at the ICU bedside.

Through a well-designed observation island, medical staff can provide comprehensive, round-the-clock observation of patients and reduce disturbance to patients. The intelligent system is the second pair of eyes of the medical staff. Under the innovative model of "critical care chain management", all the data of monitors, ventilators and even electric beds in ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital can be collected in real time through the intelligent system, and the central monitoring system and early warning system can automatically identify the life-threatening conditions of patients. On the other hand, through information analysis of the patients in the general wards of the hospital, potentially serious patients can be identified at the earliest possible time.

It is worth noting that Department of Critical Care Medicine of West China Tianfu Hospital aims to have zero tolerance for hospital-acquired infections. All 60 wards are single wards, and three of them are specially designed isolation wards to cut off the risk of cross-infection from the source. In addition, each ward, laboratory and dining room is equipped with air disinfection machines to ensure that each patient breathes fresh air after admission. The final disinfection room and the special channel for medical waste all reflect the meticulous prevention and control of in-hospital infection.

Rendering warm services

To offer help and care for critically ill patients

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, many ICU wards have now canceled family visits. The ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital is equipped with a remote visitation system, which enables remote communication between family members and patients, so that the patients can still feel the love of their family members even in isolation.

“Keeping patients moving" is one of the most effective ways to prevent lung infections, blood clots, delirium and other complications in ICU patients. The ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital is equipped with 68 electric beds that can help patients to achieve lateral and prone lying, including 8 rehabilitation beds that allow patients to "stand up" in bed. The automatic lift and joint trainer can meet various position changes and rehabilitation training requirements for patients, so that critically ill patients will no longer be "bedridden" all the time. 

Care for critically ill patients is also crucial, so the ICU of West China Tianfu Hospital has created an “all-round plus specialized” critical care team oriented to “care and service”. In terms of basic nursing care, the ICU strives for the best, with prevention of common complications such as infections, blood clots and pressure injuries as top priority; as for advanced nursing care, it can provide professional nursing management of common organ function support means including ventilator, bedside blood purification and extracorporeal membrane lung support. On this basis, it has also set up nursing teams with different specialties according to the complex changes in the condition of critically ill patients.