An exploration of the support available to children who may wish to visit a critically adult in ITU

The findings illustrated that there was a lack of written policy and very little written information for adult visitors regarding the needs of children who have a loved one in ITU. There was also a dearth of resources for nursing staff pertaining to children and their needs (when visiting a critically ill adult), including a lack of any formal or informal education on the subject. Clearly, restrictions were still being imposed on children visiting a loved one either by the well parent/carer or by the nursing staff, mainly for reasons unsubstantiated by research.