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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM , where we instantly improve the lives of Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care, so that you can have PEACE OF MIND, real power, real control and so that you can influence decision making fast, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in Intensive Care!
In last week’s blog I’ve shown you “How to control your emotions quickly whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and why it’s a shortcut to control, power and influence!” You can read, watch or listen to last week’s update here.
In this week’s blog I want to show you ”FIVE STRAIGHTFORWARD WAYS TO IMPROVE FAMILY SATISFACTION IN INTENSIVE CARE!”
Family satisfaction in Intensive Care is hard to measure and is also hard to achieve. One might say that the majority of Patients, in fact, around 90- 95 % of all Intensive Care admissions are leaving Intensive Care alive and that’s great news! So why should those Families be dissatisfied?
And the reality is that those Families often aren’t dissatisfied.
But what about the situations where it’s unlikely that Families are going to be satisfied, given the sometimes difficult and heartbreaking circumstances their and their critically ill loved one are in?
And here, I really want to look at the situations where critically ill Patients are in difficult, unpredictable and volatile situations such as where your critically ill loved one is
- very unstable and in a very critical condition
- in a life threatening situation
Everything else I believe is secondary, as most Patients and their respective Families in Intensive Care who are leaving Intensive Care alive and in a relatively short and acceptable period of time are going to have some level of satisfaction.
The reason I do want to look at these situations in particular and how Family satisfaction can be improved is that during all of those situations that I mentioned above, the level of fear, frustration, struggle, overwhelm, vulnerability and the level of challenges Families are dealing with is huge!
Especially during those situations the level of control, power and influence is diminished or non- existent for most or for all of those Families. Therefore, I also know from experience, after more than 15 years Intensive Care nursing in three different countries that the Intensive Care team during those situations wants to make sure that “they are pulling all the strings” and that “they are calling the shots” by not only positioning themselves, but by also positioning the diagnosis and prognosis of critically ill Patients depending on what’s happening “behind the scenes” and also depending on the politics, the intrigue and the psychology that is at play in an Intensive Care Unit.
Because what Families of critically ill Patients don’t know most of the time is that Intensive Care Units have many other competing interests, besides treating and “curing” critically ill Patients.
So let’s therefore look at “FIVE STRAIGHTFORWARD WAYS TO IMPROVE FAMILY SATISFACTION IN INTENSIVE CARE!”, as they relate to the situations that I mentioned above, where Families have little or no perceived control, power and influence.
1. Transparency
Transparency is paramount and yet, especially when Families and their critically ill loved ones are in situations where the situation is difficult, volatile and challenging, the Intensive Care team may not necessarily be transparent and they may only tell Families “half of the truth”. The Intensive Care team, certainly has no interest in letting Families of critically ill Patients look “behind the scenes”.
What do I mean by that?
A recurring theme in Intensive Care is that if the Intensive Care team is telling you and your Family that your critically ill loved one is going to die or that a “limitation of treatment” or a “withdrawal of treatment” is “in the best interest” of your critically ill loved one, the Intensive Care team’s positioning might be a direct result of competing interests such as
- The financial interests and the perceived financial viability of your loved one’s stay and treatment in Intensive Care
- The line up of other admissions awaiting a scarce, precious and expensive bed in Intensive Care that might directly compete with the treatment of your critically ill loved one(usually, a bed in Intensive Care never gets “cold” and never stays empty for too long)
- The research activities and the research interests that are going on in Intensive Care. Let’s say your critically ill loved one is a long-term stay in Intensive Care and again, the Intensive Care team suggests to “limit or withdraw treatment”, the Intensive Care team might not be interested in continuing treatment, because your critically ill loved one may not fit into any research category and your critically ill loved one may therefore not “attract” 6, 7 or even 8 figure funding for research activities. The direct result is that the Intensive Care team has a much higher interest in treating Patients who fall into a research category and who attract that funding
Therefore transparency is absolutely paramount and if you and your Family are not asking the right questions and if you are scared and intimidated by the Intensive Care team, the situation will never be transparent and your critically ill loved one may not receive the best and full treatment and you and your Family are kept at arm’s length so to speak!
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2. Involvement in decision making
Now the bottom line is that the Intensive Care team wants to call the shots when it comes to decision making. They often couldn’t care less about what you and your Family want.
The Intensive Care team presents you with “facts” that they twist and turn to their liking and that’s often how they position your critically ill loved one’s prognosis and diagnosis and that’s therefore how they position themselves.
The bleak reality is that Families of critically ill Patients are not or are very poorly positioned, because they are generally speaking so overwhelmed, frustrated and challenged by the experience of having a loved one critically ill in Intensive Care that they have really no idea how to position themselves.
Therefore, if you and your family want to be involved in decision making, you need to work out your positioning and you need to position yourself well mentally and emotionally.
After you’ve achieved that you need to actively participate in the decision making around the treatment your critically ill loved one is receiving or not receiving. After all it’s your loved one who’s critically ill and not the Intensive Care team’s loved one. And with the knowledge that you have by now about what’s happening “behind the scenes” in Intensive Care you have every reason to be involved in decision making!
Don’t be intimidated by the Intensive Care team’s “perceived” power, because it’s only perceived after all and it’s not even real.
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3. Education and engagement
The next straightforward point to improve family satisfaction in Intensive Care is your education and engagement in the Intensive Care environment!
Again, the Intensive Care team might be telling you about and filling you into some of the things that are happening around your critically ill loved one, however the Intensive Care team often only scratches the surface and they often don’t tell you about the details that are happening around the care and the treatment of your critically ill loved one. You and your Family therefore need to ask as many questions as possible and of course you educate yourself at our website www.intensivecarehotline.com
The reality is that the more you know and the more and better questions that you ask, your level of power, control and influence increases, most of the time to the disliking of the Intensive Care team! And that’s cool, because you and your Family are probably sick of feeling powerless, without control and without influence!
But if you continue doing that, you will most likely see the dynamics shift in your favour immediatley…
4. Genuine alternatives
The Intensive Care team often doesn’t tell you about any alternatives that may be alternatives if your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care.
What do I mean by that?
You may think that if your critically ill loved one is in Intensive Care and is critically ill that there are very few if any perceived alternatives. Wrong!
Even though most people perceive that if a Patient requires Intensive Care there are only two options to leave ICU
a) A critically ill Patient recovers and leaves Intensive Care
b) A critically ill Patient dies and leaves Intensive Care
But especially if your critically ill loved one is falling into the categories that I mentioned before, where your loved one is
- very unstable and in a very critical condition
- in a life threatening situation
Mainly the last two categories scream for your critically ill loved one to have a genuine alternative to a stay in Intensive Care.
If I had a Dollar for every Family and/or Patient who desperately wanted to go home during a long term stay in Intensive Care or if I had a Dollar for every Family who wanted for their loved one to go home when they were approaching their end of life, I would be a Millionaire!
However, the good news is that in this day and age a shift towards more and better Home Care, even in high acuity areas such as Intensive Care and even in end of life situations in Intensive Care can be achieved. Many European countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland have embraced the model of Intensive Home Care a long time ago and the reality is that it’s massively successful for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy. Australia has followed suit and you can get more information at INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU
Usually, transferring a long-term ventilated Patient with Tracheostomy home, is a big win, because imagine, taking your critically ill loved one home from a depressing and inhibiting environment such as Intensive Care, it’s a no brainer really. Check out INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU
5. Empowerment
Last but not least, Families of critically ill Patients in Intensive Care need to empowered, they need to get involved in decision making and they need to be powerful, in control and influential! Families of critically ill Patients have been at the mercy of Intensive Care teams for far too long and it’s time to stop that and it’s time that Families of critically ill Patients get real and genuine support such as at INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM where we give you the real stuff and the “behind the scenes” insights that you need in order to manage this challenge!
How can you further leverage your level of power, influence and control whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care and how can you be in control of the situation?
You’ll get to that all important feeling of power, control and influence when you download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report NOW by entering your email below!
In Your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” report you’ll learn quickly how to get real power and real control and how you can influence decision making fast, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care! Your FREE ‘INSTANT IMPACT” Report gives you in-depth insight that you must know whilst your loved one is critically ill or is dying in Intensive Care! Sign up and download your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT now by entering your email below!
In your FREE “INSTANT IMPACT” REPORT you’ll learn how to speak the “secret” Intensive Care language so that the doctors and the nurses know straight away that you are an insider and that you know and understand what’s really happening in Intensive Care!
In your FREE reports you’ll also discover
- how to ask the doctors and the nurses the right questions
- Discover the many competing interests in Intensive Care and how your critically ill loved one’s treatment may depend on those competing interests
- how to eliminate fear, frustration, stress, struggle and vulnerability even if your loved one is dying
- 5 “killer” tips& strategies helping you to get on the right path to control, power and influence in your situation
- You’ll get real world examples that you can easily adapt to your and your critically ill loved one’s situation
- How to stop being intimidated by the Intensive Care team and how you will be seen as equals
- you’ll get crucial “behind the scenes” insight so that you know and understand what is really happening in Intensive Care
- how you need to manage doctors and nurses in Intensive Care(it’s not what you think)
Thank you for tuning into this week’s “blog” and I’ll see you again in another update next week!
Make sure you also check out our “your questions answered” section where we answer your questions or send me an email to [email protected] with your questions!
Also check out our Products section where you get more Ebooks, Videos and Audio recordings and where you can also get 1:1 consulting!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!
Sincerely, your Friend
Patrik Hutzel
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