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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!
This is another episode of “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” and in last week’s episode I answered another question from our readers and the question last week was
“How much longer does my son need to stay in Intensive Care with Guillain-Barré Syndrome?“
You can check out the answer to last week’s question by clicking on the link here.
In this week’s episode of “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” I want to answer another question from one of our readers and the question this week is
“HOW LONG CAN A PATIENT STAY IN INTENSIVE CARE?”
It’s a question that I get quite frequently and the answer in short is that it depends. However, many people working in Intensive Care have seen some Patients in ICU for more than 6 months and up to one year. That being said, it could well be that a Patient ends up staying for longer than 12 months and I have seen that as well.
The reality is that most high end Intensive Care Units in big metropolitan areas need to be able to look “after any Patient indefinitely” in order to be able to provide Intensive Care services at the highest level. This also means that in order to maintain their accreditation status, they need to be able to prove that they have the capacity, equipment and manpower to look “after any Patient indefinitely”.
The next question would then be, why would somebody need to stay in Intensive Care for so long?
Most critically ill Patients staying in Intensive Care long term are usually ventilator dependent with Tracheostomy. Ventilator dependency with Tracheostomy requires specialist skills that are usually only available in Intensive Care. Doctors and nurses need to be ventilator and Tracheostomy competent and nurses on a ward area are usually not trained to look after ventilator and Tracheostomies.
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The big challenge and big question then remains, how long does it take to wean somebody off the ventilator? Is it possible at all?
Again, the answer to this question is “it depends”. It depends on a number of things, including but not limited to
– The Patients pre-medical history
– Family support
– Patient’s age
A long-term ventilated Patient can certainly be weaned off the ventilator, but it can be difficult and challenging and often, after a few failed weaning attempts, Patients and Families get frustrated and the Patients often get psychologically dependent on the ventilator. It is often a vicious cycle, where the ventilator dependency triggers depression and depression triggers the ventilator dependency.
The solution to the dilemma is often to think outside of the box. Imagine you’re in ICU for months on end and the only thing that’s keeping you there is the ventilator dependency. How frustrating of a situation is this for you and for your family. And often the Intensive Care unit lacks the skills and the ability to think outside of the box. Thank god, in countries like Australia, Germany, Canada and in parts of the united states, Intensive Home Care nursing services are available who enable long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy to go home as a genuine alternative to a long- term stay in Intensive Care.
The main goal in those circumstances is to provide the long term ventilated Adult or Child with Tracheostomy and their Family with Quality of Life and/or Quality of end of life. Those Intensive Home Care services, exclusively work with critical care trained staff and therefore provide a genuine alternative to a long term stay in Intensive Care. Check out INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU for more information about Intensive Home Care Nursing services!
It furthermore helps hospitals and Intensive Care Units to free up valuable Intensive Care resources, generally freeing up a bed and staff. Both, the empty bed and the available staff can be used for more acutely unwell Patients.
Check out this link here http://intensivecareathome.com.au for more information about Intensive Home Care nursing and the opportunities that such services provide for long-term ventilated Adults and Children with Tracheostomy and their Families and for Intensive Care Units alike.
How do you get to that all important feeling of PEACE OF MIND, control, power and influence fast, whilst your loved one is critically ill in Intensive Care?
You get to that all important feeling of PEACE OF MIND, CONTROL, POWER 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 PEACE OF MIND, 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 even 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 report 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 PEACE OF MIND, 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 “YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED” and I’ll see you again in another update next week! Make sure you also check out our BLOG section for more tips and strategies 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 with me!
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREHOTLINE.COM and I’ll see you again next week with another update!
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