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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, I made a video a couple of days ago here with a client that has their father in ICU for 120 days, nearly for four months with a tracheostomy on a ventilator. So now that I’ve had more conversations with the client, I want to share this here in more details to prepare other families in intensive care to avoid similar situations.

So, the client went into ICU for bypass surgery, had CABGs (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) times 5, so he had 5 bypass surgeries, and then had followed by complications such as cardiac arrest, arrhythmias, but also heart attacks. And then he had difficulties weaning off the ventilator initially but got successfully extubated after a couple of weeks. He had to be reintubated after aspiration pneumonia, then ended up with a tracheostomy. After about another two weeks of a tracheostomy, he actually got decannulated and then, again, was struggling to breathe and ended up with the tracheostomy back in his neck. And now, he’s been on the ventilator since about 23rd of September. So, for a very long time. And now, it looks like he can’t get off the ventilator and it looks like he’s got pulmonary fibrosis, which will make it difficult for him, but not impossible to wean off the ventilator.

The client is 63 years of age, and he’s got multiple complications such as kidney failure, but he’s off dialysis now. He is diabetic and he’s also on steroids for the lung fibrosis, but it’s also immunocompromising him with the steroids because it’s causing infections and he’s immunocompromised anyway.

Now, the intensive care team is adamant that he should not be resuscitated in case his heart stops. The intensive care team is adamant that he should have palliative care if he can’t improve, and they have not discussed this with the client himself, which is really cowardice, for lack of a better term. I mean, why would you not discuss treatment options with a patient himself, especially since there’s evidence that he is fully compos mentis with Glasgow Coma Scale of 15. It’s really cowardice of not discussing treatment options with a patient if they’re awake and they can speak the language, they can write, they can express themselves with a pen and a piece of paper. And hopefully, if he can time off the ventilator, he can even use the speaking valve, but in the meantime, he can express himself simply with a piece of paper.

Now, the client is very clear on that he wants to go home on a ventilator no matter the outcome, and that he wants to leave intensive care as quickly as possible. This is something that needs to be respected and he can go home with the service like Intensive Care at Home. And here in Australia in particular, with the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), he’s 63 years of age, he can get NDIS funding and go home as quickly as possible. And it cuts the cost of the intensive care bed by around 50%. It frees up the intensive care bed and more importantly, it helps ICUs to create bed capacity. And more importantly, it helps the family and the patient to get what they want, which is what healthcare is all about.

Saying things like, “dying is in his best interest” is just a whole lot of rubbish because he wants to live. He clearly expressed that and not respecting patients’ wishes is against the healthcare standards. Partnering with consumers is one of the healthcare standards. So, in a situation like that, they should continue trying to wean him off. But if they can’t wean him off and he wants to go home, then you know you should contact Intensive Care at Home at intensivecareathome.com.

Now, if you have a loved one in intensive care and you need help, go to intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or simply send us an email to [email protected].

If you have a loved one in intensive care on a ventilator and you want to go home, contact us at intensivecareathome.com. Contact us on one of the numbers at intensivcareathome.com or send us an email to [email protected].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org, where you have access to me and my team to ask questions about intensive care or Intensive Care at Home, 24 hours a day.

If you need a medical record review, please contact us as well, especially if you want a medical record review while your loved one is in ICU or even after ICU. If you suspect medical negligence, please contact us as well.

Like the video and subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, or what questions and insights you have from this video.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from Intensive Care Hotline and Intensive Care at Home, and I’ll talk to you in a few days.