Table 1.

Demographics of respondent organisations

Characteristic	N (%)
Response rate according to the UK country
England	145 (75.1)
Scotland	20 (87.0)
Wales	12 (80.0)
Northern Ireland	5 (55.6)
Type of hospital
University teaching	66 (36.5)
District general	115 (63.5)
Total number of critical care units*
Level 3 (ICU)	112
Level 2 (HDU)	170
Combination levels 3 and 2 units	98
Total number of critical care beds*
Level 3 (ICU)	1007
Level 2 (HDU)	1090
Combination levels 3 and 2 units	1354
Frequency of reported types of patients admitted to critical care unit*†
General	230
Surgical	52
Medical	38
Cardiac/cardiology/cardiothoracic	35
Neurological	22
Respiratory	17
Trauma	14
Renal	5
Burns	4
Liver	4
ENT	3
Other‡	10

n=181 responses (except for response rate according to country, n=192 responses). Critical care units and bed numbers refer to the total number within respondent organisations overall, for example, one organisation may have multiple critical care areas.

*n=2 non-responses.

†Data presented indicate frequency of reported occurrence of type. Multiple responses could be given.

‡Other, for example, haematology, infectious disease, maxillofacial, vascular.

ENT, ear, nose, throat; HDU, high dependency unit; ICU, intensive care unit.