Please help us bring comfort to the families of patients being treated at St Mary’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and to the teams who work there round-the-clock, by supporting our ICU Appeal and raising £200,000.
As one of London’s busiest major trauma centres, St Mary's ICU cares for some of the most seriously ill and injured people, from London and from further afield.
Our ICU sees people travel many miles to be with their loved ones during a time of intense trauma. They can spend many desperate hours awaiting news, and that’s why it's incredibly important they have a comfortable, calming and safe space that’s close to where their loved one is receiving treatment.
With your help, we hope to create an environment where families can rest, have important conversations and regroup while visiting their loved one.
By supporting our ICU Appeal, we can also renovate tired and worn doctors’ on-call rooms, so these hardworking clinicians can get the rest they desperately need to continue providing the best possible care to their patients.
Together, we can go beyond what the NHS alone can provide and transform vital support spaces within St Mary’s Hospital’s ICU.
Donate today
Peter's story
Peter was crossing the road when his life changed forever; he was struck by a motorcycle running a red light, and was thrown 10ft in the air on impact.
Peter was initially assisted by the Air Ambulance, who brought him to St Mary’s Hospital. His injuries were extensive, and so serious that he spent his first seven weeks of treatment in an induced coma, and ultimately needed to have his left leg amputated.
He said: “My wife and son visited me every day, and they have told me what went on. All I can remember is waking up with one less leg and tubes sticking out of everything.
“One of the cardiac arrests I had actually happened while my wife was here. She got ushed out the room, rapidly, into the family room. It was incredibly important that she could be taken into friendly room close by where she could be looked after.”
During his time in the ICU Peter witnessed the constant stress and strain the clinicians were under. He was and remains so grateful for the medical staff who kept him alive while working under incredibly stressful conditions.
He said: “They’re always as cool as a cucumber, even through the worst and most intense of things. I don’t know how they do it. They need to have somewhere to go for some quiet, down time for themselves.
"If they’re constantly on the go in their 12 hour shifts, day in day out, without any down time, they’ll get burnt out. It’s very important they have somewhere to sit down and chill out, and do their own thing.”
Support our appeal
Our ICU Appeal is aiming to enhance and improve four spaces.
We are renovating the ward’s reception, ensuring that visitors have a warm and welcoming area as their first point of contact.
Two family rooms will be updated with comfortable furniture that can be adapted for sitting or sleeping. Further, beautiful artwork, improved lighting and air conditioning will make these places serene and calm for the families using them.
The doctors' on-call room will be enhanced to ensure our hardworking clinicians are able to get much-needed rest during long shifts, helping them deliver the highest standard of care to our patients.
Lastly, an improved Multi Disciplinary Room (MDT) will enable our clinical staff – doctors, nurses, therapists, and other experts – to come together, share their views, and agree on the best next steps for the patient.
St Mary’s Hospital’s busy ICU delivers around-the-clock care for its patients, providing outstanding medical support. However we understand the serious impact experiencing a major trauma or illness can have on the lives not only of the patient, but those who love and care for them. That’s why we want to provide inclusive and comfortable spaces for those supporting someone within the ICU.
We know that having family support within a critical care setting can lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced stress and a better psychological outlook on recovery for the patient.
Today, you can help us to improve these important ICU facilities for patients, their families and our staff.
Donate now- Two refurbished family rooms featuring air conditioning and comfortable furnishings, including facilities that allow family members to rest and sleep.
- A more comfortable and relaxing on-call room for staff working long and demanding shifts, allowing them to rest so that they can continue to deliver outstanding care.
- An enhanced reception area with new seating and artwork, creating a more welcoming and positive first impression for those entering the unit.
- Creating a functioning MDT room to allow clinical staff to come together to review and discuss the best care plans for each patient.
Please consider supporting our ICU Appeal. Your generosity will improve and modernise family and staff spaces at St Mary’s ICU, so that we can be there for patients' families, and our highly-valued ICU team, when they need it the most.
Our goal is to raise £200,000 to carry out the required work – and we cannot achieve this without your generous support. Please consider giving what you can to make a difference to families experiencing extreme difficulty.
Above: Deputy Lead Nurse for Critical Care, Cheryl Meyer
Cheryl works is the Deputy Lead Nurse for Critical Care at St Mary’s Hospital ICU. Her shifts are extremely busy and fast-paced, and she and her team regularly work long, demanding shifts.
The team’s work requires significant mental preparation, making it incredibly important that staff have a comfortable area to take regular breaks, so they can continue to care for patients at the highest possible level.
Cheryl said: “It’s really exhausting… Rest is incredibly important throughout a shift. How rested and well-hydrated you are has a real impact on your decision-making and the quality of care you can provide to patients.
“The family room is also really important because it gives families a space away from the unit where they can rest before going back in to support their loved ones.”
Thank you
We are incredibly grateful for your support of our ICU Appeal
Should you be interested in meeting with any of the staff at St Mary's Hospital's ICU so that you can hear more about the impact that your support could make, please let us know.
Thank you for your support.
Donate nowIf you would like to discuss our appeal or making your donation you can contact our Fundraising team via: fundraising@imperialcharity.org.uk or call us on 020 3640 7766.