Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: 5 Essential Facts Families Must Know If ICU Plans to Limit or Withdraw Treatment
5 essential facts families must know if ICU plans to limit or withdraw treatment.
My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, where we help families of critically ill patients in intensive care to make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in intensive care. So that your loved one gets best care and treatment, always.
Today’s topic is 5 essential facts families must know if ICU is planning to limit or withdraw treatment.
If you’re watching this video, chances are ICU has already raised the issue of “withdrawing” or “limiting treatment for your loved one”. And I want to tell you right now, this is one of the most critical moments. The families either take control, or they risk losing their loved one’s life unnecessarily. Let’s get straight into it.
- You have rights and so does your loved one.
ICU teams often make it sound like they have the final say. Make no mistake, they don’t. The decision to stop or limit treatment is not theirs to make. You as the family have rights, and you have the final say. Your loved one has rights. You can ask for second opinions, you can challenge decisions, and you should. You should never be bullied into thinking otherwise.
- Quality of life.
Quality of life is often used as a cover for resource management. What you see is often not what you get in intensive care. Because I hear this every day. ICU teams say, “Your loved one will have no “quality of life”, so, it’s best to stop treatment because that’s “in their best interest.” But who decides that anyway. Your loved one or you as a family. Too often it’s not about medical facts, it’s about beds, financial budgets and resources, including staffing resources. Don’t let ICU frame this as a one-way conversation. Also, quality of life is a perception, no more than that. And at the end of the day, it’s up to you and your family to make the decision what’s acceptable for a quality of life. It’s not up to the ICU team.
- Prognosis is uncertain.
Prognosis in ICU is rarely clear cut. I can’t tell you how many times families were told there’s no hope. And then with time, ongoing treatment, and also clinical misjudgment from intensive care teams, or by pushing the narrative of doom and gloom, their loved one improves or even survives long term regardless. ICU is full of uncertainty, but one thing is certain, if treatment is withdrawn too early, recovery will never be possible. So don’t make irreversible decisions based on predictions that are often wrong. Never make decisions today that you might regret in 12 months or 24 months’ time.
- Time is your best friend in intensive care.
ICU often pressures family with statements like, “We need to make a decision by tomorrow.” That is certainly not true. Recovery takes time. The brain takes time, lungs take time, the heart takes time, and so forth. Infections take time to heal. Don’t let ICU impose artificial deadlines when your loved one needs every chance to fight for 5 days in ICU is not a long time, even though that’s what intensive care teams want to make you believe. Have your own say. Think for yourself. That’s the most important part, actually start thinking for yourself.
- Advocacy saves lives because advocacy changes outcomes.
Families who stay silent and accept what ICU says often regret it. Families who ask questions, push back and get expert advocacy on their side like we do here at intensivecarehotline.com. They often save their loved one’s life. This is where we come in at intensivecarehotline.com. We are the only service worldwide that provides consulting advocacy for families in intensive care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
So, what do you need to do if ICU is talking about limiting or withdrawing treatment and in essence wanting to kill your loved one. Well, number 1, go to intensivecarehotline.com and call me now on one of the numbers on the top of the website, or book a call with me directly at intensivecarehotline.com.
When you have me and my team on your side, you instantly gain the leverage, the strategy, and the insider knowledge you need to stop ICU from making premature life or death decisions, because this is your loved one’s life. This is a once in a lifetime situation that you simply cannot afford to get wrong. Don’t leave it up to the intensive care team.
I have worked in critical care nursing for 25 years in three different countries, where I worked as a nurse manager for over 5 years in intensive care. I’ve been consulting and advocating for families in intensive care since 2013 here at intensivecarehotline.com. I can very confidently say that we have saved many lives with our consulting and advocacy because of our insights. You can verify that on our testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com. You can verify it on our intensivecarehotline.com podcast section where we have done client interviews because our advice is absolutely life changing.
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.
That’s why we help you to improve your life instantly, making sure you make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment always. That’s why you can join a growing number of members and clients that we have helped over the years, saving their loved ones’ lives.
That’s why I do one on one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, WhatsApp, whichever medium works best for you. I talk to you and your families directly. I handhold you through this once in a lifetime situation that you simply cannot afford to get wrong. When I talk to families directly, I also talk to doctors and nurses directly, asking all the questions that you haven’t even considered asking but must be asked when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care.
I also represent you in family meetings with intensive care teams.
We also do medical record reviews in real time so that you can get a second opinion in real time. We also do medical record reviews after intensive care if in case you have unanswered questions, if you need closure, or if you are suspecting medical negligence.
We also have a membership for families of critically ill patients in intensive care, and you can become a member if you go to intensivecarehotline.com, if you click on the membership link, or if you go to intensivecaresupport.org directly. In the membership, you have access to me and my team, 24 hours a day, in the membership area and via email, and we answer all questions intensive care related. In the membership, you also have exclusive access to 21 eBooks and 21 videos that I have personally written and recorded. All of that will help you to improve your life instantly, make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power and influence, making sure your loved one gets best care and treatment always.
All of that you get 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] with your questions.
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, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have from this video.
I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show. You will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel or my intensivecarehotline.com email newsletter at intensivecarehotline.com.
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.
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