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How to Minimize Secretions with Tracheostomy & Achieve a Decannulation Quicker! Quick Tip for Families in ICU!

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

So, today’s quick tip is about tracheostomy decannulation. We’re currently working with a client in the U.S. who says, “My wife’s been in LTAC for a few weeks. I think she’s ready for decannulation as she’s awake. She’s obeying commands, she’s coughing. But the LTAC team is saying she’s not ready for decannulation and they want to send her to a skilled nursing facility.”

Now, that is another confirmation to me that LTACs (Long-Term Acute Care) simply don’t know what they’re doing. I’ll tell you why in a minute. They want to wash their hands clean and not take responsibility and get the job done and decannulate our client’s wife.

So, here is why. So, when we looked at the medical records, it looks like she has a lot of secretions. When we looked at the medication she’s on, we couldn’t find that there’s anything that they are giving her, such as glycopyrrolate or such as atropine to minimize the amount of secretions this lady is having.

By adjusting some of the medications she might reduce the amount of secretion she’s producing. Therefore, decrease the frequency of tracheostomy suctioning and therefore she has a much higher chance to be decannulated and have the tracheostomy removed.

The problem is when patients progress from ICU to LTAC, the skill level is going down. The skill level of people looking after patients is going down significantly. If this lady is now going from LTAC to a skilled nursing facility, it goes from bad to worse in terms of skill level.

I’ve been saying it for many, many years. When you have a loved one in ICU on a ventilator with a tracheostomy, do not give consent to go to LTAC. You are entering a downward spiral which is clearly evident here. Once again, when patients go from ICU to LTAC, they’re entering a downward spiral. Clearly evident here.

Once again, I’ve made so many videos about this over the years that when you have a loved one in intensive care, this is for our audience in the U.S., do not go to LTAC. Do not give consent to a PEG (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrotomy) tube in particular and if you want to give consent to a tracheostomy, get a second opinion first.

Just recently, we’ve helped a client to avoid a tracheostomy and be extubated and have the breathing tube removed instead of doing a tracheostomy difference from day to night, if that can be achieved.

The biggest challenge for families in intensive care or in LTACs 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. They don’t know how to manage doctors and nurses in intensive care on an LTAC. That is exactly what we’re dealing with here, once again.

Get a second opinion and look what can be optimized or adjusted. LTAC simply do not have the skills or knowledge to do what it takes to get patients from point A to point B. The other issue with LTACs is when patients go from ICU to LTAC, they’re literally on a timer, 30 days LTAC and then they’re going to a skilled nursing facility most of the time. Not all the time but most of the time.

The LTAC is not taking responsibility to take them home, to send them home without a tracheostomy, without a ventilator. That should be the ultimate goal, but they’re not working towards it. They’re making excuses. They don’t have the skills or the knowledge to do what it takes to have patients improve. That is the bottom line.

So, that is my quick tip for today.

I will also make another video in the next few days. We’ve just had a client approach us a few days ago, who had their loved one going to LTAC as well, and they passed away and it’s been so sad. Once again, it’s another sign that LTACs simply are dangerous places and but I will make a separate video about that. Stay tuned.

I have worked in critical care for nearly 25 years in three different countries where I also worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive all around the world since 2013 here at the intensivecarehotline.com.

It is without the slightest hint of exaggeration that we have saved lives with our consulting advocacy. Have a look at our testimonial section, have a look at our podcast section, where we’ve got client interviews and how we save their loved one’s lives.

That’s also why we created a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care. You could become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com and you click on the membership link or you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, 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.

In the membership, you also have access to 21 e-books and 21 videos, and that will give you a roadmap to manage this challenging environment that is intensive care. I have written the e-books, and I recorded the relevant videos to it that will help you to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, influence, and making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment.

I also offer one-on-one consulting advocacy over phone, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I talk to doctors and nurses directly. Once again, I ask all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking when you’re talking to doctors and nurses. I, again, make sure that you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, and making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment. Furthermore, I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.

We also offer medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also of medical record reviews after intensive care if you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are simply suspecting medical negligence.

All of that, you get at intensivecarehotline.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to [email protected].

If you like my videos subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care, click the like button, click the notification bell, comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have from these videos, share the video with your friends and families.

I also do a weekly YouTube live, so if you’re a subscriber to my YouTube channel, you’ll get a notification for my weekly YouTube live and you can ask me questions live on the show.

Thank you so much for watching.

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

Take care for now.