This blog post was first published at our sister site INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME, a specialized Intensive Home Care nursing service, focused on Quality of life and/or Quality of end of life for long-term mechanically ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy. The Home Care service provides a genuine alternative to a long-term stay in Intensive Care! For more information visit www.intensivecareathome.com.au

Hi it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU where we help long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy to improve their Quality of life and where we also help hospitals and Intensive Care Units to save money and resources, whilst providing Quality Care!

In last week’s blog I was talking about “The 5 things you didn’t know INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME can do for your ICU” If you want to read the article you can click on this link here http://intensivecareathome.com.au/five-things-didnt-know-intensive-care-home-can-icu/

In this week’s blog I want to ask the question

“Has Intensive Care become obsolete for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy?”

Having worked in Intensive Care for nearly 15 years now has given me a very different perspective about life, about life’s limitations and also about life’s possibilities, irrespective of the challenges that some people encounter within Intensive Care and I guess everybody who has worked in Intensive Care for any period of time would agree that working in Intensive Care is not for “normal people”.

A few of those years that I worked in Intensive Care I worked in the community with long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy and I looked after them in their own home. The alternative for those long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy and their Families was a long-term stay in Intensive Care.

Thankfully in most European countries, mainly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland the alternative to a long-term stay in Intensive Care for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy is Home Care, based on successful models of Intensive Home Care nursing that provide a genuine alternative to a long-term stay in Intensive Care.

More importantly, Intensive Care and a burdensome lengthy stay for those long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy has become obsolete.   

And it’s a “no- brainer” for everybody who has seen it or worked in a home care environment with long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy.

It’s a “no- brainer” for

• Patients
• Their Families
• Intensive Care Units
• Doctors
• Nurses
• Health Funds(Public or Private)

Because it works and it has been proven over and over again for more than 15 years now.

And why has it been so successful?

Because everybody who has dealt with or looked after depressed long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy in Intensive Care knows that such a limiting and inhibiting environment that is Intensive Care can not provide the Quality of life and/or Quality of end of life for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy.

Therefore, Intensive Care has become obsolete for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomyand everybody who has worked with long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy in their own home knows that the improved Quality of Life for those Clients and their Families is something that enables them to

• Blossom in their own environment
• Gives them more control over their destiny with the right support structure
• Enables them to look at possibilities and opportunities(i.e. go back to work, kindergarten, school, university etc…)
• Be around their Family and loved ones

What are your thoughts? Do you think that INTENSIVE CARE has become obsolete for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy? Leave your comments on the blog below.

If you want to discuss your needs and how we can help your Intensive Care Unit and your long-term ventilated Patients and their Families and if your organisation wants to free up ICU beds or if you simply have any questions, give me a call on 041 094 2230 or simply send me an email to [email protected] 

This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU  and I’ll see you again in another update next week.

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