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

So, currently, we are having an inquiry from a client in the U.K. who says that their 68-year-old mother has just left intensive care, has been extubated. She went into ICU with a stroke, and she was having a “one-way extubation.” And I’ve made videos about what a one-way extubation is in intensive care. But basically, the family had no idea what was happening in intensive care, and they didn’t comprehend what was next. She was basically then moved to a hospital ward and now, they’ve stopped all nutrition, stopped all fluid intake, and they’ve started her on a morphine and midazolam infusion under palliative care.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, this is morphine and midazolam infusion, as well as stopping all nutrition and all hydrations could be perceived as euthanasia. And euthanasia, as far as I’m aware, is illegal in this situation.

So, the family had no idea what was happening in ICU. They had no idea that it was meant to be a “one-way extubation” and she was not to be returned to ICU. She was conscious at the time she left ICU. The hospital could have asked the lady what she actually wanted, but that wasn’t done. The palliative care team took matters in their own hands. And now, the family’s desperately trying to save a life.

Our advice was to seek legal advice as well as report to the hospital CEO because the palliative care team wouldn’t want to listen to them and saying it’s their right to do what they’re doing. I’m not a lawyer, but I would strongly dispute that stopping hydration and stopping nutrition against the patient’s wishes and starting morphine and midazolam infusion could be perceived as euthanasia.

Now, you might have heard me say before many times that the biggest challenge for families in intensive care is simply 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. And that’s where we can help you with very quickly, if this lady or if this family had contacted us while she was in ICU, we could have educated them about what a one-way extubation means, what their rights are, and so forth.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

If you have a loved one in intensive care, please contact us at 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 site for families in intensive care at intensivecaresupport.org, where you have access to me and my team and where you can ask questions, 24 hours a day, in a membership forum or via email.

And, if you need a medical record review for your loved one in intensive care or after intensive care, if you suspect any medical negligence, we can help you with that as well.

That’s my quick tip for today.

And, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home, share the video with your friends and families, click the like button, click the notification button, 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 intensivecarehotline.com and I will talk to you in a few days.