VISITORS to Ealing Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit can now get a better understanding of its work.

Large-scale schematics and a patient information guide illustrate how equipment is used to help patients in one of the most technologically advanced areas of a hospital.

The floor-to-ceiling illustrations were prompted by the return of visitors following the second wave of the pandemic.

Consultant Mike O’Connor said: “ICUs can look like something out of a science fiction film to first-time visitors.

“It can be a daunting environment for people, especially when their loved one is critically unwell.

“Hopefully by demystifying some of the lines, tubes, monitors and kit, relatives can focus on their loved one.

“Everyone visiting a relative or friend on the ICU receives a guide based on the mural, illustrating a bed space in the unit.

“It describes the roles of various professionals involved in the care of patients, along with advice for relatives.”

Emergency Medicine Registrar Callum Kirk, the driving force behind the project, added: “ICUs are very dramatic and fast-paced on TV shows but, in reality, it is often a slower more measured environment where small adjustments are made to patients’ conditions. They are generally calm places.”