Seeing the patient in ICU for the first time

Patients are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) because their illness or injuries may be life-threatening and they need intense support while they are treated, constant monitoring and 24-hour nursing care that cannot be performed on general wards. One of the most noticeable things in ICU is the amount of equipment in each bed space. Most patients need at least some help with their breathing, and this is provided by a machine called a ventilator ('breathing machine' or 'life support machine'). In order to provide constant monitoring, various monitoring methods are used, including heart electrodes on the chest, arterial lines in the wrist, central lines in the neck and urinary catheters. It is not uncommon for critically ill patients to be (chemically) sedated in order to ensure their comfort and compliance to treatment. Patients also have a variety of infusions, including sedation, painkillers, fluids for hydration, antibiotics and liquid food.

Here people talk about how they felt when they first saw their relative, partner or close friend in ICU. Everyone is different and experiences ranged from shock to reassurance. 

Most people had never had a relative or close friend in intensive care before. The environment had been new and alien to them and seeing the ill person in ICU for the first time - connected to lots of equipment, often looking very different from normal - had been shocking, frightening and upsetting. Patients who have been in accidents might have bruises and swellings, and sometimes obvious injuries. Patients who are gravely ill may be excessively pale, bloated, or shrunken and gaunt. Above all, most of them are unconscious.

She felt her husband looked like a stranger after his mountain bike accident and dreaded breaking the news to his parents.

She was shocked when she saw her sister in ICU She'd been temporarily paralysed by her illness she was heavily sedated and her eyes were rolling [she had Guillain-Barre Syndrome].

One man said that, although he'd worked in the fire service and was accustomed to seeing distressing things, when he first saw his own father in intensive care he was shocked, but felt he had to reassure his sister and mother. Others, who'd worked in the health field, said that although they were accustomed to hospitals and even the ICU environment, it was very different seeing someone they loved so helpless and vulnerable.

Although, due to his work, he felt he knew all about intensive care units he was completely unprepared for how he'd feel seeing his own wife there.

One woman, whose husband had been admitted to intensive care after planned surgery, said that, despite having lots of information and visiting ICU beforehand, she'd still found it frightening and hadn't liked being there for very long (see 'Planned admissions'). 

One man described the ICU environment as 'overpowering' and some said they'd felt very aware of the alarms and equipment at first. Most recalled how nurses had prepared them for the environment and that they'd felt reassured by and confident in them. Nurses had also told them that they could call for information whenever they wanted or they would phone them if there were any changes in the patient's condition. 

Everything was explained to them so, when they left ICU, they felt their son was in safe hands and would receive all the care he needed.

It hadn't taken long before people had felt more comfortable and familiar with the intensive care environment. Some had felt the atmosphere was calm and respectful and several had taken children in to visit the critically ill person (see 'Impact on children'). For those who'd seen the patient connected to some equipment in Accident and Emergency or on wards, it had often been easier to accept seeing them in ICU. However, they remembered just how difficult it had initially been every time other visitors came in for the first time. Many were upset and distressed and needed comforting. During this difficult time most people had only wanted very close family and partners to visit but one woman, whose best friend was admitted to intensive care, became her next-of-kin because her friend's father was elderly, very weak and lived a long way from the hospital.

All her visitors found it distressing seeing his wife in ICU but he noticed that men and women often reacted differently.

Some people had felt a sense of relief when they'd first seen the critically ill person in intensive care because they'd looked like themselves and as if they'd been sleeping. After seeing her son like this immediately before being admitted to ICU, one participant, who'd been an intensive care nurse, said she'd felt reassured. 

Even though medical staff were treating their critically ill son, he looked comfortable when they saw first saw him and they sensed that he would recover.

A few people, who had had reason to visit close friends in ICU before, felt that this had helped them to know what to expect and prepared them for what it would be like seeing their relative there. 

Because a friend had previously been in ICU after a car accident, he knew what to expect when his wife was admitted to intensive care after having emergency surgery.

One participant, an ICU consultant, said that having a critically ill father reaffirmed for him the importance of keeping family and close friends informed and updated. Most people were very impressed by the way they'd been kept informed about what was going on but two people complained that their relative had been transferred to ICU and they hadn't been contacted about what was happening. 

Last reviewed November 2010.