The Intensive Care Unit at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital is most commonly referred to as the ICU.
In some other Hospitals in Australia and countries you may also have heard it referred to as the ITU or Intensive Therapy Unit, or Critical Care Unit. We
use a coordinated team approach to care for our patients throughout their stay with us.
 Who are we?
The Intensive Care Unit at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital.
What do we do?
We deliver care for acutely ill patients, using a coordinated team approach. This includes 24 hour
on-site coverage by senior medical staff.
How you can access our service
All patients requiring admission to the unit are referred to the Registrar on duty who will contact the Intensivist (the intensive care specialist doctor).
Our patients are referred for care in our Unit from a number of different sites.
They may be referred from the Emergency Department, Operating Theatre, acute ward areas and other areas of the Hospital.
Our patients also come from other Hospitals in Northern Sydney Health, other hospital in Sydney and NSW.
The types of patients we look after require acute care, for differing periods of time and procedures.
Our contact numbers are:
- Phone: 9477 9560
- Fax: 9477 9939
Where you can find us
We are located behind the Emergency Department on the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital campus and can be accessed by two entrances. One entrance is off the main corridor of the Hospital, opposite the X-Ray Department and the other is accessed from the Emergency Department ramp. Both of these entrances have an Intercom for access to the unit.
By ringing the bell on the Intercom you will speak to our "Ward Clerk” during “Office Hours” and one of the Medical or Nursing Staff after hours.
Coming from the main entrance of the Hospital, down the corridor, ICU is on the left-hand side and the next two doors on the left lead to the ICU Waiting Room and Counselling Room.
In our Waiting Room is a phone that will connect you straight to the Nursing Station in ICU when you pick it up.
What are our hours?
As the patients in this unit are extremely unwell at times, this may be very stressful for the patient and their family.
For this reason we encourage only immediate family to visit the patients, and only two at a time at the bedside.
As the patients may require lengthy periods of care, procedures and planning of care, there may be delays before you are able to visit or your visit may have to be interrupted.
We also strongly encourage a rest period for the patient between 12.30pm and 3pm. During this time we encourage staff and family not to disturb them.
By liaising with the staff looking after the patient the most appropriate time to visit can be determined.
When you arrive
Family members of patients who are in ICU should come to the door of the Unit and announce their arrival through the intercom. You may be asked to go to the waiting room
for a time, if a care procedure is in progress for the person you are there to visit.
More information
We do have an Intensive Care Unit Information Brochure available.
The unit is accredited for training specialists in intensive care. We have three Intensive Care Specialists working in our unit. These are Dr James Fratzia (Director of ICU) and Dr Michael Whitty (Co-Director of ICU) and Dr Robin Choong.
They work one week (7 days) at a time to look after the patients in the Unit. Each day they see all the patients in the unit, noting their progress and planning their care for the day.
They may reassess patient’s progress during the day and perform procedures for the patient that require their skill.
They are “on call” whenever they are not in the unit, during the week they work. The title given to the Intensive Care Specialist is “the Intensivist”.
We have five Registrars working in the unit who work twelve hour shifts seven days at a time.
The registrars may work for six months or a year at a time before moving to their next job.
These doctors are senior members of the medical team.
They are usually specialising in this field of medicine or like fields such as Emergency Medicine or Anaesthesiology.
We also have four Resident Medical Officers who also work twelve-hour shifts, from Monday to Sunday.
Together with the Nursing staff and help of the Allied Health Staff a coordinated team approach is used to care for our patients throughout their stay with us.
Printable ICU page  ; ICU Brochure
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