Intensive Care Society

Well, hello there.

Welcome to a slightly different episode of the ICS cast from the Intensive Care Society.

Hold on to your headphones because the residents are taking over.

That's right.

It's a pleasure to come and talk to you.

Dan Harvey, I'm a consultant in intensive care medicine in Nottingham University Hospitals, and I'm also lead for innovation and research with NHS Blood and Transplant in organ donation and also a member of the Intensive Care Society's Legal and Ethical Advisory Group.

So Dan, you're not very busy really, are you, at all? I mean, I'm surprised you've got any time to be doing this, but there we go.

And it's lovely to have you both here.

But that's not to say that it doesn't cause significant distress for patients, for families, for staff, and we worry about the absolute harm that might accrue there to the UK ICU system as a whole.

That's something we've been looking at in the Legal and Ethical Advisory Group to see whether we can improve the guidance and support that might be available.

I would say that many trusts' legal teams, and we work with some of them in the Intensive Care Society and in the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, are excellent, both in terms of their expertise, their availability, and I think their understanding and willingness to support ICU teams and trusts through what is a very difficult time.

But that's not how it can feel for teams that are, uh, absolutely at the sharp end.

Fast forward then to the new Labour government and its 10-year workforce plan.

The Intensive Care Society has not pulled its punches on this, pointing to the stark deficits in the plan for acute, emergency and intensive care.

It says a plan that overlooks its most acute services requires will ultimately fail vulnerable patients when they need it most.

To discuss all this, our guest is the president of the Intensive Care Society, Professor Shondipan Laha.

Shond, as he is known to his colleagues, is a consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia, and he's based mainly at the multi-specialty critical care unit at the Royal Preston Hospital.

He's been a key driving force nationally in intensive care education and training, and in developing clinical guidelines and standards.

And that isn't a one-year plan.

That's a five-year plan, 10-year plan.

And I run a non-profit called Real Zero, which is charity funded to work on climate action.

And I am chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, which is now 56 national health organisations, including the Intensive Care Society, more colleges and so forth.

That's me.

That's great, Hugh.

So if you don't like what's coming...

Stop bothering with your ventilator settings and get on and move your bank account.

If you've got private investments, which I don't in shares, move them just as the Intensive Care Society did several years ago and divested from fossil fuel.

Move your power supplier to 100% renewable at home.