Based on a list in “Life Support” by Jim Down. Some references that were just about his hospital have been removed. Some refer only to ultra-acute Covid situations.
I also used the web generally and https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#CCT
‘A&E’ Accident and Emergency. Previously called ‘Casualty’ and sometime called ‘ED’ Emergency Department. Within the medical profession the branch of medicine relating to A&E is increasingly described as ‘EM’ Emergency Medicine.
ACT: Acute care team.
AED: Automated External Defibrillator
ARDS Acute respiratory distress syndrome
ART: Acute response team.
Ambulatory patients. A patient able to walk around. Eg often patients who make their own way to hospital and are not brought by ambulance.
Ambulatory care: medical services performed on an outpatient basis including after discharge from inpatient care.
Blood gas: A bedside blood test that measures the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, acid, haemoglobin, sodium and potassium in the blood.
‘Bloods’: Colloquial term for blood tests, used to measure blood cell counts, electrolytes and other molecules in the blood.
‘Blue lighted’: – emergency transport to hospital.
CHD: Coronary heart disease, a condition in which the major blood vessels that supply the heart get clogged with deposits of cholesterol, known as plaques. A chronic condition which may lead to heart attack. See MI below
COVID-19 (covid) COronaVIrus Disease 2019. Disease caused by SARS-CoV 2 and dis
covered in 2019
CPAP: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. Constant positive pressure applied by mask or hood to the airways. This can be air or have added oxygen. Contrast with ‘Oxygen therapy’ which delivers only pure oxygen.
CPR: cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Given when a patient stops breathing (respiratory arrest) or their heart stops beating (cardiac arrest). It generally refers to repeatedly pushing down very firmly on the chest but may also refer to “defib” – Defibrillator – see AED above – using electric shocks to try to restart the heart. Previously ‘mouth-to-mouth’ breathing but that is less recommended now. It can include reference to CPAP see above
CRP: CReactive Protein. A blood marker of inflammation – typically very high in Covid.
CT scanner. Medical scanner that gives cross sectional images of all or of parts of the body. Sometimes referred to as a CAT scanner. Computerised tomography scan.
DNR or DNAR: Do Not Resuscitate – or more modern language Do Not Attempt Resuscitation or DNARCPR.
Defib – Defibrillator – see CPR above.
“Donning and Doffing”: Putting on and taking off PPE. Usually in separate sealed sections of the ward to avoid contamination. It can be time consuming and is needed even for toilet breaks – hence delays and under time pressure not drinking enough hence UTIs for staff.
The Doppler: A probe that passes through the mouth into the oesophagus to measure blood flow out of the heart.
EAU: Emergency Assessment Unit.
ECG: Electrocardiogram. A recording of
the electrical activity of the heart via sensors on the skin. ECGs detect the rhythm and rate of the heartbeat and identify abnormalities such as heart attacks.
Echocardiogram: Ultrasound scan to look at the structure and function of the heart.
ECMO: ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. A machine to oxygenate blood and remove carbon dioxide in a circuit outside of the body.
ED: Emergency Department (also known as A and E and Casualty).
Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain sometimes caused by viruses
ENT: Ear Nose and Throat.
Endotracheal tube:
A breathing tube that passes through the mouth down into the windpipe (trachea).
FFP3 mask: Filtering Face Pieces 3 mask. A mask that protects against viruses, bacteria and fungal spores. As opposed to the ordinary cloth surgical mask
‘The filter’: ICU dialysis type of machine takes over the function of the kidneys when they ceased to function adequately.
GA: general anaesthetic
GIK: glucose, insulin number potassium. A combination of infusions to improve the heart function.
Haematologist. Doctor specialising in blood. Some specialise in blood cancer, others in blood clotting, others in sickle-cell disease, et cetera
HASU: hyper acute/unit.
HDRU: high-Dependency Unit
HCA health care assistant
HCSW Health care support worker
Hierarchy of nurses: Band 5 basic grade nurses although maybe for several years . Band 6 after five or so years. Typically includes Senior Nurses, Deputy Ward Managers, Health Visitors and various specialist Nurses. Band 7 include Ward Managers, Emergency Nurse Practitioners and clinical specialists. Band 8 and 9 roles normally only apply to Modern Matrons, Chief Nurses and Consultants. https://www.nurses.co.uk/blog/a-nurses-guide-to-nhs-pay-bands-in-2022/
Nurses have this very clear hierarchy and except when Covid forced everyone into scrubs, different uniforms which allowed accurate delegation of tasks. https://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/your-care/your-visit/nurses-roles-and-uniforms
IV: Intra venous – injection or line into a vein
ICU: intensive Care Unit (also known as at Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) and Critical Care Unit (CCU).
LA: Local Anaesthetic.
Levels: these are ways of describing degrees of medical needs in patients. Level 1. Minor. Discharged or admitted to wards. Level 2. Intensive care may need CPAP, renal filter n=but not vented. Level 3. ICU and Resus Vented. 1 2 1 care.
Lymphocyte: the type of white blood cell, typically low in Covid patients.
MDT: Multidisciplinary team meeting. Different professionals meet together to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of patients including doctors from different specialties, nurses and many other professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
Meningitis: infection of the lining of the brain.
MI: myocardial infarction – a heart attack.
Microbiologist: Doctor who specialises in the bacteria and other microorganisms that cause infections
Moral Injury: The emotional impact – often shame and guilt – of not being able to do one’s duty – often because of lack of resources. See online definitions.
On call: Where a member of staff is available to be called for work, usually outside normal working hours. This can involve answering enquiries over the phone, or physically attending the workplace. It can also sometimes involve sleeping at the workplace to be available to deal with emergencies.
Perioperative medicine: the clinical care of patients before during and after high-risk surgery.
PPE: personal protective equipment. Basic surgical masks or much better: FFP3 filtering facepiece
Proning: moving a patient from lying on the back to lying face down, a therapy used to increase the likelihood of survival in patients with Covid. Requires six staff and is hard and dangerous with trachies and lines. Has to be unproned quite often.
Red flag: Symptoms that indicate a potentially serious disease and warrant prompt investigation and treatment.
“Resus”: resuscitation. Hence resus nurse or officer. See CPR above.
Registrar: middle grade doctor between SHO and consultant.
RTA: Road traffic accident.
SARS-CoV 2: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, so called because the virus is related to the coronavirus that caused SARS in 2003
Sepsis: a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs.
Scrubs: the sanitary clothing workers involved in patient care in hospitals. Originally designed for use by surgeons and other operating room personnel, who would put them on when sterilizing themselves, or “scrubbing in”, before surgery, they are now worn by many hospital personnel. Originally only blue now more colours are available.
SHO: Senior house officer, a junior training doctor
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
Stroke: Caused when there is interruption of the blood supply to the brain, which is often the result of a blood clot in a cerebral (brain) artery (ischaemic stroke). It may also be caused by the rupturing of a blood vessel in or near the brain (haemorrhagic stroke).
Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) Also known as a “mini-stroke”, this occurs when there is a brief interruption of the blood supply to the brain, causing symptoms similar to those of a stroke. The symptoms typically last less than one hour and are completely resolved within 24 hours.
Tracheostomy: Breathing tube placed through the front of the neck into the windpipe.”Trachy”
TPR: Temperature, pulse, respiration hence TPR Chart for each patient.
Triage: Once a patient is registered at A&E they will be pre-assessed by a nurse or doctor before further actions are taken.
UTI: Urinary tract infection
Ventilated: “Vented” The principal function of a ventilator is to pump or blow oxygen-rich air into the lungs; this is referred to as “oxygenation”. Ventilators also assist in the removal of carbon dioxide from the lungs, and this is referred to as “ventilation”. Ventilation can be by mask or tracheostomy.
One basic type of ventilator is the Bag Valve Mask (BVM). The BVM is operated manually by a person squeezing a self-inflating bladder. This is an essential tool for ambulance crews, first responders and critical care units. It is light, compact and easy to use. Mechanical ventilator is what is used on an ICU.