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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com with another quick tip for families in intensive care.
So, today I have an email from Joan who asks, “How do I know and how can I decide that the ICU team has done everything they can for my husband?” Well, that is a great question, Joan.
You probably can’t from the outside without getting a second opinion, that is the short version. The first thing that you need to do is starting your own research. So many families come to us when they have a loved one in intensive care when it’s too late, and without you taking responsibility, you will never find out whether the ICU team is doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
Nine times out of 10, when we help families, one-on-one, when we look at medical records, when we talk to ICU teams directly, when we dig very deep, we are finding that they haven’t even told you half of the story. They’re probably giving you a doom and gloom scenario and you’re probably sensing something’s not right, but you don’t know where to start.
When I work with clients, one-and-one, I talk to doctors and nurses directly. I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but you must ask when you have a loved one in intensive care and that’s really only how you find out whether the ICU team has done everything that they can. I have just done a YouTube Live earlier in the week, “How to handle doom and gloom scenarios from ICU teams when your loved one is in ICU?” I encourage you to watch the live stream with some tips and strategies as well. However, the bottom line is this, unless you’re digging really deep, you’ll never find out.
The biggest challenge for families in intensive care is that they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know what to look for. They don’t know what questions to ask. They don’t know their rights and they don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care.
I can confidently say that since we started intensivecarehotline.com in 2013, I can say without the slightest hint of exaggeration that we have saved lives here at intensivecarehotline.com. You can verify that by clicking on our testimonial section or by watching our podcast or listen to our podcast where we interviewed clients to verify that.
So, that’s exactly how families have found out that the intensive care team isn’t doing everything they’re supposed to be doing because we obviously educated the families and what can be done, then we put the pressure back on ICU teams successfully. So, that is what we are doing here in intensivecarehotline.com and we’re always opening our client’s eyes to how much information has been withheld from them.
I have worked in intensive care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013. I know exactly what to look for. I know exactly what questions to ask so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, and every single time we’re talking to doctors and nurses directly, or we’re looking at medical records, we’re always finding something.
As a matter of fact, many things that you haven’t been informed about you didn’t know, you didn’t know, that’s the only way to find that. But the biggest part here is really that you need to take responsibility for getting outcomes because if you don’t take responsibility for outcomes, if you don’t stay positive, and if you don’t take matters in your own hands, you’ve already lost.
So, that is my quick tip for today. I hope that helps.
Because we get so many questions for families in intensive care, that’s why we created the membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care at intensivecarehotline.com If you click on the membership link or if you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. You will also have access to the medical record too, you will also have access to the membership. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email, and we answer all questions, intensive care related.
I also offer one-on-one consulting and advocacy for families in intensive care over the phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly and that is exactly how I will find out whether they are doing everything they can or whether they’re withholding information. Like I said to you 9 times out of 10, they’re withholding information because families in intensive care don’t know what they don’t know.
We are also offering medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also offer medical record reviews after intensive care, if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.
I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams. So, once again, that your loved one gets best care and treatment every single time. I also strategize with you whether you should even go into a family meeting with intensive care team, that is also a critical question to ask.
Now, all of that you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to [email protected].
You can also schedule a free 15-minute call with me by clicking on the make an appointment section on our website.
If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care. Click the like button, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have.
Thank you so much for watching.
This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.
Take care for now.