Absent Visitors: The Wider Implications of COVID-19 on Non-COVID Cardiothoracic ICU Patients, Relatives and Staff

Summary

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Description

This study will look at the implications of visiting restrictions on patients without COVID-19 who are in the intensive care unit. It will also explore the impact of these restrictions on them, their relatives and staff. The investigators hypothesise that the restriction of visiting has a negative i...

This study will look at the implications of visiting restrictions on patients without COVID-19 who are in the intensive care unit. It will also explore the impact of these restrictions on them, their relatives and staff. The investigators hypothesise that the restriction of visiting has a negative impact on recovery of patients, families of patients and staff caring for patients without COVID-19 in the cardiothoracic ICU. In order to answer this hypothesis, the wider implications of COVID-19 will be explored, not only with patients, but also relatives and staff involved in the care of these patients. The research questions this study aims to answer are: Is there a negative impact on the clinical outcomes due to the COVID-19 visitation restrictions? Is there an increase in the incidence and duration of delirium in patients who do not receive visitors? What experiences do patients recall during their ICU admission through the COVID-19 pandemic visitation restrictions? What experiences do relatives recall from their loved-ones during an ICU admission during the COVID-19 pandemic visitation restrictions? What impact, if any, do the changes to visiting have on staff? In order to answer these research questions the investigators will carry out a single centre mixed method observational study. This study will consist of two arms. The first arm of this study will utilise retrospective data that is routinely collected in normal clinical practice in this single centre. This will be used to compare to patient outcomes prior to COVID-19 with outcomes following the implementation of COVID-19 visiting restrictions. The second arm of this study involves semi-structured interviews with patients, relatives and staff that allow deeper exploration of the issues around current visiting policy.

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