Resources

2018  |  Guidelines & Standards

The 2018 release of the Practice Standards for Critical Care Nursing in Ontario replaces the second edition in 2012. It reflects the Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA) legislation, ensuring critical care nursing practice includes a focus on inter-professional and multidisciplinary practice, and patient and family-centred care.
This edition provides further clarity on the supporting requirements of a health care facility and critical care unit which facilitate the achievement of Critical Care Nursing Practice Standards by each nurse working within a critical care environment.

2021  |  Guidelines & Standards

The revised NICU levels of care guidance document applicable to current practice and service within level 2 and level 3 NICUs in Ontario.

2020  |  Guidelines & Standards

The ECMO Consultation Guidelines is a tool that outlines for critical care providers various interventions and/or therapies that should be considered for respiratory rescue in critically ill patients. The goal is to ensure that patients most likely to benefit from ECMO are considered for this intervention in a timely manner and that consultation with a center providing ECMO is enabled.

2020  |  Guidelines & Standards

The recommended pathway for EMU and epilepsy surgery referrals endeavors to supplement current system activity and provides referring physicians a recommended centre of referral.

2020  |  Guidelines & Standards

Information sheet for vent acquisition during pandemic

2021  |  Guidelines & Standards

​This document provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities for the provincial ventilator stockpile as well as procedures for requesting, releasing, and returning stockpile ventilators.

2021  |  Guidelines & Standards

2021  |  Guidelines & Standards

2018  |  Guidelines & Standards

2016  |  Guidelines & Standards

The Guidelines for the Adult Spinal Cord Assessment outlines the techniques associated with performing an assessment of the spinal cord function in patients with a potential or actual acute spinal cord injury. The Guidelines provide direction for local development of bedside spinal cord assessment protocols, in order to enhance existing skills and to ensure consistency of spinal cord testing within and across different organizations. For the individual patient, this provides a baseline from which changes in the patient’s spinal cord function may be identified, reported, and managed in a timely manner. The Guidelines were developed by the Neurosurgery Education and Outreach Network (NEON) in collaboration with Provincial Neurosurgery Ontario.

2013  |  Guidelines & Standards

Critical Care Services Ontario (CCSO) and The Ministry of Health developed the Life or Limb Policy (2013) in response to recommendations from the Office of the Chief Coroner for a provincial “no refusal” policy when critical injuries or conditions of threatened life or limb are involved. The purpose of the Life or Limb Policy is to facilitate timely access and transfer of patients, who are life or limb threatened, to an appropriate level of acute care services for interventions that would improve patient outcomes (loss of life or limb is certain if transfer does not occur within 4 hours). 

2014  |  Guidelines & Standards

The Provincial Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) Guidelines for Ontario is the result of a collaborative effort between CCSO, the Epilepsy Implementation Task Force (EITF), and Provincial Neurosurgery Ontario (PNO). This document outlines protocols and provides guidelines for EMUs for diagnostic evaluation for epilepsy surgery in patients with medically refractory epilepsy.