SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital opens a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital has opened a new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), which has 24 individual rooms and cubicles and is equipped with cutting-edge technology. The new unit has been designed to offer comprehensive care to the patients and their families, and to provide the healthcare professionals with the spaces and resources they need to carry out their work under optimal conditions.

The refurbished PICU occupies a surface area of 2,011 m² and is composed of two areas with exterior windows to let in natural daylight: one block with 14 beds which can be increased to 18, and another with 10. One of the cubicles is a negative pressure isolation room for the admission of patients with highly contagious infectious diseases, and two more have positive pressure for the care of immunocompromised patients.

Each cubicle in the new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit has a bed for the companion, a designated space for storing belongings, an independent temperature regulation system and a television. The PICU also offers families an external room with relaxation area and personal bathroom so they can feel more comfortable during their stay in the unit.

Technology for monitoring critical patients

The medical devices (pumps, respirators, monitors, etc.) in each cubicle are arranged in such a way that the staff members can easily access the child in a critical situation, as their are no cables or connections that get in the way. These devices are connected as a network to the IT system and the indicators are recorded, offering greater safety and traceability.

In the new unit, the patients are monitored by central monitors, screens at the foot of the bed and mobile devices. The staff members have an emergency button that allows them to send a call to the entire team if required. When this is pressed, the lights of the cubicle light up and the doors are opened, allowing other unit staff members to quickly identify where immediate care is required.

The new PICU also has a simulation cubicle in which staff members can practice techniques for dealing with complex cases without leaving the unit, before putting them into practice in a real-life scenario.

The new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit has been made possible thanks to the Port Aventura Foundation.