Table 2.

Example of an ICU physiotherapy resource plan.

Phase	Bed capacity	Description and location of patients	Physiotherapy staffing	Equipment for respiratory care, mobilisation, exercise and rehabilitation
Business as usual	22 ICU beds and six HDU beds	All patients within existing ICU and HDU physical resources	Four FTE	• six stretcher chairs • 10 high-back sitting chairs • three rollators • one tilt table • two cycle ergometers • steps/blocks • bariatric equipment
Tier 1	Expansion with additional number of ICU beds provided (eg, opening previously non- commissioned beds)	Fewer than four patients with COVID-19 Patients with COVID-19 only allocated to beds with reverse flow isolation rooms There is limited availability of reverse flow rooms within most hospitals	Additional one FTE per four ICU beds21 One senior physiotherapist will screen patients with COVID-19 in consultation with an ICU medical consultant Patients will be provided treatment in isolation rooms	If needed, one stretcher chair allocated and quarantined for use One tilt table quarantined for use with COVID patients. Quarantined in room, or cleaned and located for storage in isolation Additional respiratory equipment
Tier 2	Further expansion to maximum ICU capacity	The number of patients with COVID-19 exceeds the availability of isolation rooms, necessitating the care of infectious patients outside the confines of a negative pressure room Infectious patients will be cohorted on the open ward of the ICU Normal ICU admission/non- infectious patients located in a separate part of ICU	Calculation for additional FTE as above Infections ICU Pod physiotherapists allocated, including one senior physiotherapist Non-infections ICU Pod physiotherapists allocated, including one senior physiotherapist Infectious and non-infectious staff allocated, including weekends	Additional chair resources may be required Keep separate sets of chairs, tilt tables, etc, for infectious and non-infectious patients
Tier 3	Additional ICU beds created outside of ICU (eg, in anaesthetic areas)	Surge in patients with COVID-19 exceeds the capacity of the allocated infectious area Bed allocation for patients with COVID-19 allocated across the entire ICU Non-infectious satellite ICU will be established in a separate location	Calculation for additional FTE as above	Additional chair resources may be required Keep separate sets of chairs, tilt tables, etc, for infectious and non-infectious patients
Tier 4	Additional beds created across clinical areas in other parts of the hospital (eg, cardiology, operating theatres)	Large-scale emergency	Calculation for additional FTE as above	Additional chair resources may be required Keep separate sets of chairs, tilt tables, etc, for infectious and non-infectious patients

COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019, FTE = full-time equivalent, HDU = high dependency unit, ICU = intensive care unit.