Sometimes called an intensive care unit, this is a hospital unit in which seriously ill patients undergo resuscitation, monitoring and treatment. The units are staffed by doctors and nurses trained in INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE, and patients receive 24-hour, one-to-one care with continuous monitoring of their condition via highly specialised electronic equipment that assesses vital body functions such as heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, temperature and blood chemistry. The average ITU in Britain has four to six beds, although units in larger hospitals, especially those dealing with tertiary-care referrals – for example, neurosurgical or organ transplant cases – are bigger; 15 beds is usually the maximum. Annual throughput of patients ranges from fewer than 200 to more than 1,500. As well as general ITUs, specialty units are provided for neonatal, paediatric, cardiothoracic and neurological patients in regional centres. The UK has 1–2 per cent of its hospital beds allocated to intensive care, a figure far below the average of 20 per cent provided in the United States. Thus patients undergoing intensive care in the UK are usually more seriously ill than those in the US. This is reflected in the shortage of available ITU beds in Britain, especially in the winter. (See CORONARY CARE UNIT (CCU); HIGH DEPENDENCY UNIT.)