Contact the Lifehouse ICU directly via the hospital switchboard. For patients in cardiac arrest or immediate danger, activate the MET/Code Blue response through standard hospital channels.
About Our Service
Camperdown Critical Care Consultants provides the specialist intensive care medical service at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, a dedicated cancer centre in Camperdown, Sydney. Our intensivists are senior specialists, most holding conjoint appointments at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, with subspecialty expertise across a broad range of critical care domains.
The Lifehouse ICU primarily serves the needs of oncology and haematology patients, perioperative patients undergoing major cancer surgery, and patients receiving complex cancer treatments. We also provide the Clinical Emergency Response (MET) service and cardiac arrest response throughout the hospital.
Our Capabilities
The Lifehouse ICU is equipped to manage a broad range of critical illness in the context of oncology and perioperative care.
Our team has particular expertise in the management of critically ill oncology and post-surgical patients.
When to Refer
We welcome early referral for patients who may be deteriorating or who are at high risk of deterioration. You do not need to wait until a patient is critically ill to involve us. Early ICU involvement leads to better outcomes.
Consider ICU referral for patients with:
- Respiratory failure or increasing oxygen requirements — SpO₂ <90% on >4L/min O₂, or increased work of breathing
- Haemodynamic instability — hypotension not responsive to initial fluid resuscitation, or requiring vasopressor support
- Reduced level of consciousness or acute neurological deterioration
- Severe sepsis or septic shock
- Acute kidney injury with oliguria or refractory electrolyte disturbance
- High-risk oncology presentations — tumour lysis syndrome, neutropenic sepsis with organ dysfunction, severe immunosuppression with acute illness
- Post-operative complications following major surgery
- Need for invasive monitoring or organ support beyond ward capability
- Any patient you are concerned about — clinical instinct matters
We would rather be called early and help optimise a patient on the ward than be called late when options are limited. Early involvement also allows us to have important conversations about treatment goals before a crisis occurs.
The Referral Process
- Call the ICU — contact the Lifehouse ICU via hospital switchboard to speak with the on-call intensivist or registrar. For urgent situations, do not delay calling while completing documentation.
- Provide a structured handover — use ISBAR (Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) to communicate the patient's condition clearly and efficiently.
- Share relevant information — have available the patient's observations, recent bloods, imaging, current medications, and importantly, any documented advance care plan or treatment limitation orders.
- Discuss goals of care — if the patient's oncological context raises questions about the appropriateness of ICU admission or specific interventions, raise these early. We will work with you and the primary team to have these conversations.
- Arrange transfer — if ICU admission is agreed, ensure the patient is accompanied by nursing and medical staff and appropriate monitoring during transfer.
Goals of Care and Treatment Limits
Given the oncology context of the Lifehouse, many patients will have complex goals of care that should be considered alongside ICU admission decisions. We are experienced in navigating these conversations sensitively and in partnership with the primary treating team and family.
If a patient has a pre-existing advance care plan, NFR order, or treatment limitation, please communicate this clearly at the time of referral. These documents do not preclude ICU involvement — but they are essential to providing care that aligns with the patient's wishes.
We are available to assist with goals-of-care discussions on the wards, even for patients who may not ultimately require ICU admission.
For structured, health-literacy-informed resources to support shared decision-making with patients and families — including multilingual materials — we recommend SDM Navigator.
Our Team
All Camperdown Critical Care Consultants are Fellows of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM) with senior appointments at major Sydney teaching hospitals. See our About Us page for full profiles.
We collaborate closely with the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital ICU and have access to specialist support including cardiothoracic surgery, interventional radiology, haematology, and other subspecialties through the Sydney LHD network.
Account & Billing Enquiries
For billing or account enquiries relating to specialist fees, please see our Contact page.