Abstract
This study examined whether there was significant variation in the rate at which different intensive care unit (ICU) consultants accept unplanned referrals to critical care. Over 2.75 years, 1,292 unplanned referrals were admitted to the ICU at Glan Clwyd Hospital, representing an average rate of one unplanned admission every 18.6 hours. There was significant variation in the rate at which consultants accepted unplanned referrals, ranging from 0.99 to 1.83 admissions per 24 hours (p = 0.0039). There was also a significant difference between the rate of acceptance during normal working hours and outside these hours (p <0.001). Some of this variation was associated with differences in severity of illness, whether the patient was accepted in or out of hours and the number of beds used each day. Using rates of acceptance of unplanned admissions could be a useful measure of an ICU consultant's performance.