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| INTRODUCTION TO PICU |
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The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at St Mary’s Hospital opened in 1992 with just one bed. Since then it has grown into a busy eight-bed unit, saving the lives of children with life threatening conditions like toxic shock syndrome, meningitis, meningococcal septicaemia and pneumonia. The Unit also treats children suffering from acute trauma, inhaled foreign bodies, strangulation, severe croup, non-accidental injury and those who have undergone surgery.
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Around one fifth of patients come from the local catchment area. The rest come from elsewhere in Greater London and the Home Counties. A few come from further afield if they can be transported safely.
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All children treated on the Unit are critically ill and need life support. They could not be managed in a hospital without a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.
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