ICS Standards and Guidelines Manual

The Intensive Care Society has been a leader in developing clinical guidelines for intensive care practice since its foundation. As evidence standards and guideline methodologies have evolved, we have strengthened our approach to ensure all ICS guidance is developed with transparency, methodological rigour and clinical relevance.

The revised process supports our ambition for the Society’s Guidelines to be submitted to the Journal of the Intensive Care Society (JICS) for peer-reviewed publication and citation. It introduces clearer and more consistent standards for evidence review, guideline development, governance and reporting.

We recognise that the evidence base is still developing in some areas of intensive care practice, including aspects of nursing and allied health professional practice. Our approach allows the Society to provide the best available advice to meet clinical need, while remaining transparent about the strength and limitations of the evidence. Depending on the available evidence and methodology, the appropriate output may be a clinical guideline, standard, consensus statement, summary document or editorial.

Propose a standard or guideline

Proposals can be submitted through the annual call for topics or at any time using the standard application form. Proposals are assessed by the Standards and Guidelines Committee before a recommendation is made to the Executive Committee.

Submit a proposal for a new standard or guideline

View the proposal assessment criteria

Start an approved project

Once a proposal has been approved, the ICS will hold a formal kick-off meeting with the guideline group. This meeting will confirm the scope, clinical questions, methodology, group composition and intended publication route. It will also ensure that the project is aligned with the AGREE criteria from the outset.

Kick-off Meeting Form for New ICS Standard or Guideline

During development, groups must use the relevant ICS templates, provide quarterly progress updates and raise any risks or delays with the Standards and Guidelines Committee. Groups should also liaise with JICS early in the drafting process to confirm the intended publication format.

Read the manual

The ICS Standards and Guidelines Manual sets out the full development process, from the initial proposal and evidence review through to consultation, approval and publication.

Advice and support

The manual cannot cover every issue that may arise during guideline development.

For advice on a proposal, methodology, governance requirements, the kick-off process or the appropriate publication route, contact the ICS guidelines team.