Nutrition

The John Hunter Hospital Intensive Care Unit recognises nutrition as a key element of the Critical Care Management plan.

Individual nutrition support plans for the ICU patients are overseen by a Level 6 Clinical Specialist Dietitian and Senior Dietitians from the Nutrition & Dietetics Service.  The unit is continually working towards optimisation of nutrition through development of best practice pathways whilst complex and long stay patients are assessed using indirect calorimetry methods deemed the gold standard for metabolic assessment.

The ICU also provides a physician to the hospital's multidisciplinary TPN Team that manages patient throughout the hospital and those on home TPN residing within the LHD.

The JHH ICU is actively involved in nutrition related research and continues to both lead and participate in multicentre trials. It also provides clinical nutrition support to other Critical Care Units within the region and the state.

Total Parenteral Nutrition

The intensive care unit provides the medical lead for a multidisciplinary team in provision and maintenance of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) therapy for all adult inpatients within John Hunter Hospital. Additionally the ICU provides consultation service to other hospitals within HNELHD and the home TPN service throughout HNELHD.

This consists of assessment of patients prior to commencement of TPN, inpatient reviews and monthly home TPN Clinics.