ICU of the Future – redesigning the ICU environment to optimise patient outcomes

The vast majority of patients survive their ICU admission; however, the quality of survival is commonly suboptimal with a substantial proportion experiencing cognitive, physical, mental and/or psychological dysfunction and significant disability severely affecting the quality of life of the patient and their family. Emerging evidence suggests that the current bedspace environment contributes to these preventable adverse outcomes.

The “ICU of the Future” project is a Queensland led, international, patient centred, multi-disciplinary and intersectoral project. Using co-design to incorporate the patient’s needs, the project team has redesigned and rebuilt two ICU bedspaces at the TPCH. This pioneering and ambitious innovation project aims to demonstrate how optimising the ICU environment will enable best practice care and lead to improved patient outcomes and experiences.