‘Being critically ill is not their main complaint’: Doctor says noisy ICUs causing patients sleep deprivation

Professor Ed Litton says many patients grumble more about their lack of sleep than illness that got them admitted to ICU.
Professor Ed Litton.

A leading intensivist is on a mission to turn down the volume in ICUs, after his research shows patients are struggling to sleep amid noise levels equivalent to a buzzing alarm clock.

After a few days in intensive care, bleary-eyed patients’ main complaint is often not about their illness but their inability to sleep, says Professor Ed Litton, of Perth’s Fiona Stanley Hospital.