Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

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

So, we are currently working with a client who is in ICU with liver failure, cardiac arrest, and a so-called hypoxic brain injury but it looks like his brain is slowly recovering. And after many, many challenges in intensive care over a six-week period with severe bleeding due to the liver failure, with multiple organ failure, the client slowly recovered and has left intensive care on Sunday.

And we had some warning signs that if he was to go to a hospital ward or to a hospital floor, that they may not be able to look after the tracheostomy because that is an intensive care skill. But of course, hospitals want to send patients out of intensive care unit as quickly as possible because they need the beds, they need the staff, they need the equipment. But nevertheless, a tracheostomy is always a big risk for a patient on the ward or on the floor because simply, to look after tracheostomy as per the Mechanical Home Ventilation Guidelines, you need ICU nurses with a minimum of two years ICU experience, and that is evidence-based.

So anyway, we had concerns that by the client going to the ward, there’s a risk that he might bounce back into ICU because they can’t handle the tracheostomy. And lo and behold, the client bounced back into ICU within less than 24 hours. And the reason for it was simply that client was off the ventilator was on a T-piece. They, obviously on the ward, did basic nursing care, turned the client, washed him, and as they were turning him, they forgot to guide the tracheostomy. And the tracheostomy got dislodged and caused a major bleed that got the client to aspirate into his lungs and he ended up back in ICU with an aspiration pneumonia.

And you got to plan for those things, and you can’t just send patients out because you need the beds. It’s got to be safe, and it’s got to be evidence-based. And you can’t just send patients out, especially since there is a step-down ICU where the patient could have safely gone to without skipping a step. He should go from ICU to step down ICU, then to hospital floor after the tracheostomy is removed.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

You need to make sure that patients actually go to the right place when they leave intensive care.

Now, what would’ve been another option? Another option is always Intensive Care at Home, because Intensive Care at Home will send intensive care nurses into the home, 24 hours a day. And that at the moment is predominantly happening in Australia. That’s where we are. In all major cities in Australia, but predominantly in Melbourne and in Sydney. But you should check out intensivecareathome.com.

If you are in a similar situation, even if you are in the U.S. or in the U.K., you should definitely contact us. We can help you and guide you what to do next. If you’re in Australia, with NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) funding, we can help you to take your loved one out of ICU. And again, you should contact us there at intensivecareathome.com.

Now, if you have a loved one in intensive care and you don’t know what the next steps are, if you have questions, if you don’t know how to manage intensive care teams, if you don’t know what questions to ask, you should contact us at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website. We have international numbers there and we do a lot of work with Intensive Care Hotline in the U.S. and the U.K. as well, as well as in Australia or simply send us an email to [email protected].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There, we have a membership for families in intensive care, where you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, via email and in a membership area.

If you want a medical record review, contact us as well. We can review medical records while you loved one is in ICU or after ICU, especially if you suspect medical negligence. But we can help you with interpreting medical and clinical data.

And, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, share the video far and wide with your friends and families, click the like button, click the notification bell, and comment below what you want to see next, or what questions and insights you have.

Thanks for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.