Intensive & critical care nursing : the official journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Aug 1996
Noise levels in a cardiac surgical intensive care unit: a preliminary study conducted in secret.
Noise in hospitals frequently exceeds recommended levels and has detrimental psychological and physiological effects on patients and staff. The aim of this study was to record the noise levels within the cardiac surgical intensive care unit (CSICU) environment in secret. The device used was a CEL Instruments environmental noise meter concealed in a dummy box featuring temperature and humidity digital displays. ⋯ The continuous background noise was at its lowest at 57.5 dBA 1 min equivalent continuous sound pressure levels (Leq) and at its peak 77.3 dBA 1 min Leq. Noise in the CSICU was above the recommended levels for patients and staff well-being. Future studies will be designed to establish a correlation between sound levels and events.
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Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Aug 1996
ReviewStaffing intensive care units: a consideration of contemporary issues.
Intensive care nurses are an expensive and scarce resource. The internal market within the National Health Service requires greater scrutiny of expenditure in all areas, not least staffing. ⋯ The nurse:patient ratio is lower in the USA, therefore a brief comparison between the two countries is provided in order to inform discussion and debate. The importance of these issues for all intensive care nurses is emphasised, together with a plea for a substantive study to provide evidence of nursing work and inform future decision-making by the purchasers and providers of intensive care services.