• Reference Number: HEY-1389-2023
• Departments: Psychology Services
• Last Updated: 1 December 2023

Support beyond ICU

Following discharge from ICU, it is normal to experience a range of physical and psychological difficulties.

Patients will often experience difficulty in remembering and making sense of their time on the unit and may also experience flashbacks of this time.

It can be helpful to talk about these difficulties with a trained professional who can offer you support and strategies to help.

The following page lists available services in the local community which you can self-refer to for psychological support.

Local Services

Therapy Support: 

Hull Talking Therapies Service:  Call 01482 247 111 or refer online  https://www.letstalkhull.co.uk

East Riding Talking Therapies Service: Call 01482 335 451 or refer online https://eastridingtalkingtherapies.humber.nhs.uk

Cruse Bereavement Care: Call 01482 565 565 or visit the Cruse website on https://www.cruse.org.uk 

Health Support:

Your GP: If you are struggling with particular health concerns, ensure you get in touch with your GP and arrange an appointment.

Crisis Support:

There are support services available for you if you are experiencing a mental health crisis. These services are available 24/7. Please know you are not alone:

Adult Mental Health Advice and Support Line: Call 0800 138 0990

Samaritans: Call 118 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

Text ‘SHOUT’ (confidential crisis text messaging service) to: 85258

Useful Resources

Listed below are some websites and resources which you may find helpful to have a look through:

Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma has produced an information leaflet about trauma and ICU which can be found here: https://oxcadatresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Post-ICU-PTSD-patient-leaflet-final.pdf

The NHS website has useful information on their website regarding time in Intensive Care as well as after discharge: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/intensive-care/

ICU Steps is a charity for ICU patients. Their website offers a range of information booklets, covering topics such as breathing after critical illness, worry after critical care and recovery after critical illness: https://icusteps.org/information/information-sheets

The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine has a lot of helpful information on their website about ICU which includes videos from patients sharing both their experiences of being in critical care as well as their recovery journey: https://www.ficm.ac.uk/forpatientsrecoveryafterintensivecare/going-home-following-a-critical-care-admission

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.