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, today’s quick tip is about, “How long should my dad stay in ICU with lung fibrosis after 120 days in intensive care?” So, one of our clients has reached out to us and says, “Look, my dad’s been in ICU for 120 days, which is pretty much four months. After he had cardiac surgery initially, which was followed by complications, by bleeding, by weaning issues, they couldn’t get him off the ventilator. Initially, had an extubation, and then, he had to be reintubated after aspiration. And then after another couple of weeks, he ended up with a tracheostomy and he’s now been in ICU for 120 days.” And the ICU is telling the family that he won’t be able to come off the ventilator because he’s got lung fibrosis, he’s 81 years of age, and he’s not a candidate for a lung transplant.

So, the family’s desperate in trying to take him home, whereas the ICU says, “Well, he won’t have any quality of life at home, and we should just stop treatment.” And that is “in the best interest” of this man who wants to live and who wants to go home.

So, what’s the solution here? Well, the solution is quite simple. Take him home with Intensive Care at Home and by taking home with Intensive Care at Home, it provides a win-win situation. It frees up the ICU bed. It saves half of the cost of an ICU bed. ICU bed costs around five to $6,000 per bed day, probably now after COVID, $6,000 per bed day and Intensive Care at Home can be provided at about 50% of that cost. So, it’s a simple solution. Client will have quality of life at home or in this situation, maybe quality of end-of-life, but it’s obviously his wish to be at home. And whatever may happen may happen. And again, that’s a win-win situation. Freeing up an ICU bed that’s in high demand, freeing up hospital resources, staff equipment, cutting the cost of an ICU bed by 50%, and giving the patient and the family what they want.

And how can that be achieved? Well, your next step is to go to intensivecareathome.com and look at our service there where we send intensive care nurses into the home for long-term ventilated patients with tracheostomy adults and children, but also non-invasively ventilated clients and also clients on home TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition).

So, there’s a variety of how we can bring the ICU nurse into the home, free up an ICU bed, but most importantly, for you have a quality of life at home for your loved one and for your family. We are currently operating in Australia with Intensive Care at Home, and you should contact us again at intensivecareathome.com on one of the numbers on the top of our website. And we can help you with sending intensive care nurses into the home and get your loved one home from ICU, as quickly as possible.

That’s my quick tip for today.

Please go to intensivecarehotline.com. Contact us there on one of the numbers on the top of our website, or simply send us an email to [email protected].

Have a look at our membership for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org, where you have access to me and my team online, and you can ask questions, 24 hours a day.

And if you need a medical record review, please contact us as well. If you need a medical record review for your loved one in ICU or after ICU. If you suspect any medical negligence, please contact us.

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

Thank you so much for watching.

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