About the Department

The Intensive Care Unit (ITU) is based at St. Peter’s Hospital and is located on Level 3 of the Duchess of Kent Wing.

Intensive Care refers to the provision of advanced medical therapies and nursing care for patients with complex needs, that cannot be met in the normal ward environment. More information about the type of medical therapies performed in ITU, along with definitions of Levels of Care can be found in this consensus statement from the Intensive Care Society.

Our ITU has 15 specialist beds for the provision of Level 2 and Level 3 care, alongside dedicated support facilities for patients, their relatives, and the multi-disciplinary ITU team.

In addition to the ITU, there is a 4 bedded Enhanced Care Unit (ECU) on the separate Ashford Hospital site, providing Level 1/1+ care to elective surgical patients, managed by the department of Anaesthesia. More information on the ECU can be found in the Anaesthetics section.

The Specialty Lead for Intensive Care Medicine is Dr. Anthony K Parsons, FFICM, FRCA

The Clinical Nurse Leader for the Intensive Care Unit is Matron Chloe Miller, RGN

The Lead Clinical Practice Educator is Rui dos Santos, RN

Our ITU admits over 700 patients per year and provides surge capacity to our regional partners when ITU beds are full in other hospitals. Our ITU serves a mixture of medical and surgical emergency patients, elective surgical patients, and admissions from our cardiac catheterisation laboratory.

The Care Quality Commission rated the ITU as ‘Outstanding’ at its last inspection in October 2018 – defining our service as performing exceptionally well. You can read about our CQC report on the Care Quality Commission website.

ITU Consultant Profiles

Dr Anthony K Parsons Dr. Anthony PARSONS is the Specialty Lead for the Intensive Care Unit. His leadership vision focuses on psychological safety, encouraging a passion for excellence, and creating systems that are ‘anti-fragile’. His specialist interests include advanced mechanical ventilation strategies, technical innovation, and all aspects of quality improvement. In addition to his Intensive Care practice, Dr. Parsons is a highly experienced Consultant Anaesthetist, specialising in high risk orthopaedic trauma anaesthesia. When not at work, Dr. Parsons is kept fully occupied by his wife, daughter, and 3 cats!

Dr. Samantha Batt-Rawden Dr. Samantha BATT-RAWDEN graduated from the University of Bristol and subsequently moved back to Surrey (where she was born!) to commence her training in Emergency Medicine. She later decided to dual train in Intensive Care Medicine and Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM). Dr Batt-Rawden has experience in paediatric and adult critical care retrieval and transfer, cardiothoracic and neuro intensive care, and now works as an ITU consultant at ASPH and as a HEMs Consultant. She has an interest in human factors, performance under pressure, and moral injury. When not jumping out of a helicopter or knee deep in mud at the side of a rugby pitch - in her other role as an immediate care doctor with the RFU/England Rugby and team doctor in the Premiership - she can be found at home with her six year old, long suffering husband, and her Corgi “Paddington”.

Dr Melinda Brazier Dr Melinda BRAZIER graduated from The London Hospital Medical College in 1991. She then worked around London and the Home counties before finishing her training in the South West of London. Melinda joined ASPH as a consultant in 2004. She lives near Camberley with her family. Outside her work Melinda enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and enjoying some fresh air and relaxation.

Dr Jonathan Cooper Dr Jonathan COOPER trained at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, following a gap year in Israel, Iran and Brazil. His early medical career was spent in southern England, apart from a two year spell working in intensive care in Soweto, South Africa. He enjoys horse-riding, swimming and his interests are football and history.

Dr Michael Devile Dr Michael DEVILE graduated from Imperial College School of Medicine in 2002. After gaining 3 years experience in general medicine, he underwent senior anaesthetic training with the Oxford Deanery. His advanced ICU training was at St Thomas’ Hospital and the Hammersmith Hospitals, London. His interests include acute renal failure and all aspects of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Mike is a keen triathlete and enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, cooking and learning French.

Dr Pardeep Gill Dr Pardeep GILL has been a consultant anaesthetist and intensivist at ASPH for nearly 18 years. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Leicester Medical School. His subsequent specialist training took place in the Midlands with an additional one year secondment to Melbourne, Australia. He is married with 2 young daughters who keep him busy when he is not at work.

Dr Michael Parris Dr Michael PARRIS graduated from Kings College School of Medicine in 1998. He then continued his training in the South West of England in Acute Medicine and Anaesthesia. He moved to Oxford for his registrar training in Anaesthetics and spent a year in London training in Intensive Care medicine. He joined ASPH as a Consultant in 2009. He has an interest in medical law and outside interests include cycling and football.

Dr Barry Sellick Dr Barry SELLICK graduated from St Thomas’s Hospital, London in 1975. Following various jobs in the south of England he took a post in Cape Town, working at the Groote Schuur Hospital before coming to Nottingham where he joined the East Midlands training scheme. A return to the south and work at St Georges Hospital was briefly “interrupted” for a year spent as Associate Professor at Stanford University, California. His first child, of four, is proud to say “Born in the USA”. Self-confessed technophile.

Dr Nik Shah Dr Nikunj SHAH graduated from St George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London, in 2003. Following a post in Accident & Emergency at Kings College Hospital, he undertook general medicine training. He then attained dual accreditation in Anaesthesia and Critical Care Medicine following training in Salisbury & London including a return back to St Georges before being appointed to Ashford & St Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. His interests include teaching and use of ultrasound in intensive care. Outside interests include golf and racquet sports.

Dr Karthik Somasundaram Dr Karthik SOMASUNDARAM graduated from the Imperial College School of Medicine in 2002. He completed his registrar training in London and joined the department as a consultant in 2014. He co-ordinates the departmental quality improvement work and runs the departmental teaching programme.

Dr Ian White Dr Ian WHITE trained at Kings College Hospital and then started his early anaesthetic training at St Peters. Having completed his training in the North West London Deanery he then lectured at Imperial College London for five years before returning to his anaesthetic roots at Ashford and St Peters in 2003. When not in the Intensive Care Unit he can be found on the golf course!