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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM , where we INSTANTLY improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can have PEACE OF MIND, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making FAST, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
This is another episode of “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” and in last week’s episode I answered another question from our readers and the question last week was
You can check out the answer to last week’s question by clicking on the link here.
In this week’s episode of “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” I want to answer another question that our readers ask quite frequently and the question this week is
“CAN I TAKE MY LOVED ONE HOME ON A VENTILATOR TO DIE?”
After more than 15 years Intensive Care nursing in three different countries and after I have literally worked with THOUSANDS of critically ill Patients and their Families, I think I’ve gotten to know Families in Intensive Care quite well.
I’ve gotten pretty “intimate” so to speak with their thoughts, actions, wishes and behaviours.
Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care all share a common theme that runs so deep in their Psyche that they are often unaware of and yet they crave it with a vengeance.
And that common theme that runs through all Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care is to have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence!
And yet, you’ve heard me talking about it over and over again that 99% of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care don’t have and never will PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence because they don’t know and don’t believe that it’s possible and they are too intimidated by the “perceived power” and the “perceived authority” of the Intensive Care team.
After all, society has wrongly conditioned us for centuries that we blindly have to put all of our faith and trust in doctors? Right?
Another common theme that all Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care share is that they are worried to ask lots of questions because they are afraid that they look stupid.
And it’s even worse when it comes to end of life and death situations in Intensive Care!
It’s not “in-vogue” to bring up the topic of death and dying and openly talk about it, even in an Intensive Care environment where some critically ill Patients inevitably die!
End of life and death situations are one of the most emotionally charged topics there are!
Even though end of life and death of a loved one are one of the most highly emotionally charged topics one can ever encounter in their lifetime.
End of life and death of a loved one in Intensive Care can also be an extremely traumatic experience for the Families as well as the Intensive Care team when handled poorly and yet, we still don’t have the courage to openly talk about it!
The sooner we accept that death is part of life, the sooner we can start talking about death and end of life!
I strongly believe that critically ill Patients in Intensive Care who approach their end of life and eventually die, die a horrible death in a horrible place.
I also strongly believe that Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care know this consciously or unconsciously.
And yet, they tend to be so overwhelmed, stressed, fearful, anxious, vulnerable and they are so far outside of their comfort zone that they often don’t ask the crucial questions they MUST be asking in order to have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence!
Especially in death and end of life situations of a loved one in Intensive Care, Families know deep down that Intensive Care isn’t the right place for their loved one to spend their last few hours or days of their lives!
Where does your loved one die, if given the choice?
Surveys in most 1st world countries confirm that 75 % of the adult population want to die at home and yet less than 25 % actually do die at home.
Related articles:
Palliative Care Australia is calling for better end of life care services!
A five step BLUEPRINT for DYING WELL and with DIGNITY in Intensive Care!
That implies that more than 75% of the population die elsewhere. Where do they die, if not at home?
Well, you probably guessed it, they die in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and after all more than 75% of the population is facing an institutionalised death.
Now, as you know, I’m the expert on Intensive Care and I can’t really talk about what’s happening in nursing homes, hospital wards or hospices.
I do however know that death and end of life in Intensive Care is all but ideal.
I also know that if more than 75% of the adult population die in institutions such as Hospitals, Nursing homes, hospices etc… even though more than 75% of the adult population wants to die at home, it strongly suggests that those organisations such as Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Hospices etc.. operate in a vacuum.
It means that if more than 75% of the adult population and their Families at the end of their lives are not getting their needs met, it means that society, health professionals, politicians etc… once again are getting it all wrong!
Let’s go back to Intensive Care, which is where we started!
If your loved one is approaching their end of life on a ventilator in Intensive Care I know that most families of those critically ill Patients in Intensive Care secretly want to have their loved one die at home, but rarely have the guts to ask in order to get what they want!
Again, it comes back to families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care
- Not wanting to ask questions because they are afraid of looking stupid
- Not wanting to talk about death and dying
- Not wanting to upset the status quo and not wanting to upset the “perceived power” and the “perceived authority” of the Intensive Care team, who doesn’t want to give families and/or Patients at the end of their live choice
- Not following their gut feeling and intuition even though they know deep down that dying and approaching one’s end of life at home is the right thing to do
Recommended resources:
Think about it. If your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care, is ventilated and has a tracheostomy and has been in Intensive Care for a while and is now inevitably approaching their end of life, don’t you think that their last few days or weeks of their life would be much better spent in their own familiar environment?
Don’t you think that you, your family and your critically ill loved one would have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence if you were in your own home rather than in Intensive Care?
Don’t you think that even though most Intensive Care Units and most Intensive Care teams don’t offer “choice” to Patients and their families in most situations, let alone in death and end of life situations that they should have an interest in facilitating such a transition home?
It’s all about choice and having a genuine alternative!
You’ve heard me mentioning before that Intensive Care is an extremely expensive environment with limited resources.
Therefore, if your critically ill loved one approaches their end of life in Intensive Care on a ventilator, the resources being used in an Intensive Care environment cost around $ 5,000 (~£ 3,000) per bed day, therefore the Intensive Care team should have an interest in helping you to facilitate a dignified death of your loved one in their own home.
Not only do you, your family and your critically ill loved one get what you want, the Intensive Care team and the Intensive Care Unit get what they want too. It’s a ”win-win” situation.
They free up an expensive, scarce, precious and “in-demand” Intensive Care bed and you can, with the right support structure and professional services take your loved one home.
There are services available that provide INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services who facilitate a 24/hour nursing care for your critically ill loved one, even if they are approaching their end of life.
Those INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services work with Critical Care trained Nursing staff and they facilitate a smooth transition from Intensive Care to an Intensive home care environment. It’s a genuine alternative to approaching death and end of life in a depressing, sterile and institutionalised Intensive Care Unit.
INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services provide all the equipment, staff etc… and they provide a dignified and private end of life situation for your family and for your critically ill loved one. They know how to handle end of life situations and they are good at it.
No dying in a sterile Intensive Care bed space, where the number of visitors is restricted, where other people come and go all the time.
No dying in a sterile Intensive Care environment where the Intensive Care team has control, power and influence.
Instead you and your family can have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in you rown home even though your critically ill loved one is dying!
You, your family and your critically ill loved one can have your cultural, spiritual and/or religious needs met in a place that is your home.
And hospitals, Intensive Care Units and health service funding agencies should be fully supportive of giving people what they want.
Taking ventilated Patients home at the end of their life is not only giving Families and Patients what they want, it’s also a cost saver.
As I mentioned before, an ICU bed costs around $ 5,000 (~ £ 3,000) per bed day and INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services generally are only around $ 3,000 (~ £ 1,900) per bed day, therefore this is a win-win situation altogether!
Your next step is to check out WWW.INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU and find out more about its service offer!
How can you have PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?
You get to that all important feeling of PEACE OF MIND, CONTROL, POWER AND INFLUENCE when you download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report NOW by entering your email below! In Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll learn quickly how to get PEACE OF MIND, real power and real control and how you can influence decision making fast, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care! Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” Report gives you in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is even dying in Intensive Care! Sign up and download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT now by entering your email below! In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care! In your FREE report you’ll also discover
- How to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- How to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
- 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- You’ll get crucial ‘behind the scenes’ insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
- How you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
Thank you for tuning into this week’s “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” and I’ll see you again in another update next week! Make sure you also check out our BLOG section for more tips and strategies or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Also check out our Products section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 consulting!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!