Patients' and relatives' experiences of transfer from intensive care unit to wards.

Aims: This literature review looks at the evidence around transferring patients from intensive care units (ICU) to wards. The literature informs us that patients and their families experience problems when being transferred from an ICU environment and that this increases overall anxiety.

Background: The effects of surviving critical illness often have a profound psychological impact on patients and families This study examines the experiences of adult patients, and their families, following their transfer from the ICU to the ward.