Critical care services meet the needs of patients facing an immediate life-threatening health condition—specifically, that in which vital system organs are at risk of failing. Using advanced therapeutic, monitoring and diagnostic technology, the objective of critical care is to maintain organ system functioning and improve the patient’s condition such that his or her underlying injury or illness can then be treated.
These services are provided by specialized teams of health care professionals in adult intensive care units, paediatric intensive care units and in a variety of post-operative and step-down units. Thus, critical care units play a pivotal role in acute care hospitals. If these units get overwhelmed with a sudden spike or surge in patient volumes, some surgeries are cancelled and emergency department wait times can get backed up.