The latest Annual Report for the Critically Ill (published 26th August, Welsh Government) provides indicators of the progress being made in the provision of critical care across Wales, but also some of the challenges we face.
Survival to ICU discharge (83%) , readmission rates (<1%) and transfer for non-clinical reasons (83 pa) have improved compared with earlier reports.
However, Wales has among the very lowest number of critical care beds per capita in Europe (5.9 per 100,000) and use of those beds is compromised by an inability within Health Boards to move recovered patients on to the general ward in a timely way: 66% patients were discharged more than 4 hours after decision to discharge and nearly 150,000 critical care bed hours lost through delayed transfer of care (equivalent to nearly 17 critical care beds).
The report also highlights concerns over workforce deficiencies and the challenge of meeting a rising demand for critical care services.
Identification of episodes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in Wales is the subject of a paper published in Frontiers in Microbiology this month.
The work, a collaboration between WICS members and the Welsh Healthcare Associated Infection Programme (hosted by Public Health Wales), describes the clinical, microbiological and radiological evidence of infection present when ICU clinicians commence antibiotic therapy in invasively ventilated patients for suspected respiratory infection. The paper highlights that variability in chest x-ray performance appears to be an important limitation of current European surveillance methods for identifying VAP.
We are extremely grateful for the support of our ICU colleagues in conducting this work.
This year’s WITS Annual Meeting will be held at the SWALEC stadium, Cardiff on 30th September
The theme will be Neurosurgery and ICU with presentations by expert local and national speakers. There will also be prizes for best two trainee presentations.
The next WICS sponsored study day is being held on the 20th July at 9am at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital postgrad center. Attendance is free. Program / details below.
If you wish to attend please contact the organisers directly:
The WICS AGM for 2016 will be held at the St Brides Spa Hotel in Saundersfoot, West Wales at 3:30pm on Thursday the 23rd of June.
All members of the society “in good standing” are welcome to attend even if they are not attending the Summer Scientific Meeting.
At the meeting we will be seeking to elect up to 2 new members of WICS council and to ratify an updated constitution for the society.
Council would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Dr Paul Morgan (the previous chair of the society) who is stepping down from council at the meeting following the end of his “ex-offico” year.
Unfortunately there are no minutes from the 2015 AGM as these were lost in an IT failure, but agenda and other supporting documents will be posted below for members information before the meeting.
If you also wish to attend the Summer Scientific Meeting it is still not too late – full details can be found further down the website page.
With the changing times it has been necessary to re-draft the WICS Constitution to more accurately reflect the Society’s aims and how it is run. Attached below is the latest draft version of the proposed new constitution.
If any WICS members have any comments or suggestions for council to consider then please email these to the Chair or Secretary as soon as possible.
There will be a vote of members present at the AGM in June on the adoption of the finalised new constitution.
The deadline for abstract submission for this year’s Ed Major prize has been extended.
If you would like your project to be considered for oral presentation at this year’s WICS Summer Meeting, please ensure your abstract is submitted to: wicsarg@gmail.com by 5pm, Friday 3rd June.
The Ed Major Prize is open to all trainee, nursing and AHP members of WICS and WITS. Further information regarding participation available here: Ed Major Prize Rules
