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

So yesterday, I had a quick email from a reader who says, “I feel like my dad is being treated like a number by a small rural ICU.” Now, let me give you my take on this. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re in a big ICU in a metropolitan area, or in a small rural ICU. Unfortunately, many ICUs will treat patients just like that, like numbers because that’s what they are for the ICU.

Now, how can you change it and how can you get peace of mind, control, power, and influence in a situation like that? Well, my first tip here is this, take full responsibility. Take full responsibility for what’s happening. Take full responsibility for the outcomes that you get. Take full responsibility for the questions that you’re asking.

You’ve heard me say it over and over again, 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 all you can do to begin with is, I wrote an article a couple of years ago, “What questions to ask when you have a loved one in intensive care?” You could start just there because that’ll give you a really good overview. It’ll show you how they respond to you, but it is really important that you take responsibility for the outcomes that you’re getting. And again, it comes back to you managing doctors and nurses in intensive care and starts from the minute you are showing up there or your loved one is showing up, question everything. It’s great that you are questioning that they treat him like a number and that’s not what you want to see, but at least you’re picking up on it. And now, you can manage things from there.

I do believe the best operators in life, and it’s got nothing to do with intensive care. It’s got everything to do with any walk of life. You got to take responsibility for what’s happening. Don’t get me wrong. That’s easier said than done, but you can’t control the environment. The only thing you can control is how you react and do that. Do just that. Focus on what you can control, and you will see that the outcomes will change. For you, this is your dad, for them, unfortunately, it’s just a number.

Start asking questions, hold them to account, and part of what we are doing here, besides giving you the questions, of course, that you can ask, we are also very happy to talk to you with the doctors, with the nurses directly We’re happy to help you look at medical records. We are reviewing medical records all the time. Get access to the medical records as quickly as possible so you can show them to us and then we can explain to you what’s happening, are they doing all the right things? Again, take full responsibility for what’s happening and take full responsibility for the future outcomes that you’re getting by holding them to account, by getting a second opinion that you can get here at intensivecarehotline.com.

So, 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 and via email and we answer all questions intensive care related.

If you need a medical record review while your loved one is in ICU or after ICU, especially if you suspect medical negligence, we can help you with that as well. We are reviewing medical records while we have our clients in ICU, or we review them after ICU to find answers for you.

Like the video, share the video with your friends and families, subscribe to my YouTube channel  for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the notification bell, 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’ll talk to you in a few days.