(Monday, January 25, 2010) The Seven Network's award winning factual programming department brings another observational documentary to television with ICU: A Matter of Life or Death.

ICU: A Matter of Life or Death takes viewers on an unprecedented journey alongside Intensive Care Unit patients, their families and medical staff at The Alfred Hospital.

More than 1800 patients pass through The Alfred Hospital's ICU each year. ICU: A Matter of Life or Death portrays the drama, tenderness, joy and sorrow of the unit, its patients and their families.

Seven follows the patient for days, weeks and months, documenting their stay in the Alfred, and the miracles that the ICU staff try to perform every day.

Series producer Maxine Gray says the challenge in creating ICU: A Matter of Life or Death was to make the medically-complex environment accessible to the viewer.

"We soon found that we had two great 'storytellers': the families of the patients, who experience an incredibly intense emotional journey while their loved one is in the ICU, and the Intensive Care staff, who are doing everything in their power to make the patient better," says Gray.

"The ICU is a very inspiring place.
"It's an intense environment where everything is at stake and yet families frequently discover a level of strength and courage they didn’t know they had. At the same time the doctors and nurses provide a level of care and humanity that's just incredible."

ICU: A Matter of Life or Death premieres on Channel Seven in 2010.

• Project Manager for Medical Emergency, Julie Spencer, has returned to help manage the production of this series and is based in the Public Affairs Department. With more than 25 years nursing experience, Julie says taking on these roles has presented an interesting twist to her working career. Julie can be contacted on Ext 62551 if you would like to find out more about this series.

The Alfred's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) volunteer team has won a prestigious new State award in recognition of the services provided during Victoria's worst ever bushfires.

The ICU team were awarded equal first in the team category at the inaugural 2009 Minister for Health Volunteer Awards.

In the Alfred's ICU, family members often need support to deal with their feelings of helplessness as they watch loved ones fighting for their lives.

On 8 February, family members who had been affected by the devastation of Black Saturday found their way to The Alfred's ICU - many arriving traumatised, having witnessed destruction on a scale never seen before.

According to Volunteer Manager Gillian Wilson, one of the most important benefits of having volunteers in place was that it allowed nursing staff and social workers to better manage the needs of patients and family members.

"This particular group was hand picked for the ICU role, with all team members possessing wonderful empathy and understanding of the high-energy intensive care environment."

As a small group of eight, they worked an amazing total of 222 hours in just 14 days.

The ICU volunteers made themselves available to family members: listening, comforting and offering support on many levels. They also provided extra support to ICU staff members who were working under enormous pressure.

Congratulations to each of the volunteers who contributed so many hours during such a difficult time.