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

So yesterday, I was in a family meeting with one of our clients. The client’s mom is 50 years of age, and she has been in ICU since August which is about 4 months now. She has had a cardiac arrest initially. She’s suffering from liver failure and initially, she was off the ventilator with the tracheostomy, but then ended up with another pneumonia. And she was put back on the ventilator and was ventilated up to 80% of FiO2 (fraction of inspired oxygen), with a high PEEP (positive end expiratory pressure), high pressures, and so forth, with average arterial blood gases at best. And now, the intensive care team is suggesting to the client that they should give consent to a  PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube so that they can start mobilizing her.

Given that I was part of the meeting, I challenged the ICU team on that straightaway because you don’t need a PEG tube to mobilize someone. I’ve looked after patients in intensive care where I worked for over 20 years in three different countries, and where I also worked as a nurse unit manager for over 5 years. We have mobilized patients in intensive care with a nasogastric tube. It’s not a matter of whether someone has a PEG tube or a nasogastric tube. It’s a matter of doing the work. Doing the work and getting hands on and not making any excuses.

Outcomes in ICU, whether they can mobilize someone or not, is not dependent on a particular tube. It’s dependent on whether you actually want to do the work or not, and whether you have a “can-do attitude” or not.

So obviously, because the ICU team thought that they can “sell the client” on a PEG tube until, I was part of the meeting and then I said, “Look as being an intensive care nurse and having worked in ICU for over 20 years, my experience is that you can definitely mobilize a patient with a nasogastric tube.” So, don’t let ICU teams get away with excuses. Don’t let them get away with politics. Don’t let them get away with being lazy. Don’t let them get away with doing the right thing what is right for you and your family.

Another example out of the meeting was the client’s mom has a pressure sore. It’s around 10 on 10 centimeters. It’s probably a stage two or a stage three. It hasn’t been surgically debrided. It has been covered with dressings. And they’re refusing to tell the client what the wound is looking like, and I suggested they should measure it on a day-by-day basis to see whether the wound is shrinking or increasing in size so the client can actually be informed whether they’re doing pressure area care and wound care appropriately.

So, it really comes down to asking the right questions in intensive care. Imagine, you are in a meeting, and you don’t know what questions to ask, which is what happens all the time. You need professional representation in a family meeting, otherwise they will tell you things that you can’t challenge, you can’t question, and we can help you with that. We can be your representative in a family meeting and ask the right questions.

That’s my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care, 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].

Also, have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org. There, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in a membership area or via email, and we answer all questions, intensive care and Intensive Care at Home related.

If you need a medical record review, please contact us as well. We can help you with the medical record review while your loved one is in intensive care or after intensive care, especially if you suspect medical negligence.

Let me know what you think about this video, comment below, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button, share the video with your friends and families, and click the notification bell.

Thanks for watching.

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