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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Can ICU Medical Reviews Bring Closure After Losing a Loved One?  

“Can ICU medical record reviews bring closure for families after losing a loved one in intensive care?” That’s the question I’m going to answer today from one of our readers.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, where we instantly improve the lives of families of critically ill patients in intensive care, so that you can make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, even if you’re not a doctor or a nurse in intensive care.

Today, I have an email from one of our readers who says:

“Hi Patrik,

It’s great to be on your email list. At this time, I’m still in the healing process from the most traumatic event of my life. Although, I think having a skilled practitioner to go through the medical records of my partner’s last couple of days would answer some very important questions that I still have. I still don’t think I’m ready to hear those answers.

I’m also a little unsure as to what would be the most important information to actually send to you? My husband was in the hospital in the ICU and a recovery ward for 7 weeks before his passing. I contacted and spoke with you, Patrik, within the last 24 hours of his life, because I was so filled with doubt about how he was being treated.

Would you be able to come to an informed conclusion about what went wrong and whether there was something more that could have been done?

Please remember that this is only for my benefit, there’s no legal recourse or even an opportunity to open the outcome with the hospital at this point.

Do you find that families feel a little more closure after having a review done of the type that you perform?

Thanks for your help.

From Jan.”

Hi, Jan. Thank you so much for your kind message and I’m so sorry for your loss. I do remember speaking to you a few years ago. Losing a loved one after a long stay in ICU is incredibly traumatic, and it’s absolutely normal to still be in the thick of the healing process, even weeks, months, or years later.

You’re asking a very important question here and the short answer is, yes, many families do find a sense of peace, relief, and closure after we review the medical records of their loved ones ICU journey. Often what haunts families the most are the unanswered questions.

“Was everything done that could have been done?”
“Was there a turning point?”
“Were there things that were missed?”
“Could things have gone differently?”

You also ask what’s most important to send through. Given that your husband or partner spent 7 weeks in ICU and on the ward before his passing, a full set of medical records will be incredibly helpful. What we usually need includes:

• ICU and ward medical and nursing notes
• Daily progress and observation charts
• Medication charts
• Blood results
• Imaging reports (i.e. X-rays, CT scans, pathology, etc.)
• Ventilator/respiratory support records
• Notes from family meetings and care plans
• Fluid balance charts
• Neurological assessment documentation
• …and the list goes on.

We will make sure that you actually get a full set of medical records, because what we also sometimes find is that hospitals withhold some information and we can very quickly spot that, because we’ve got a trained eye on what actually includes a full set of medical records.

You don’t need to gather this alone. We can guide you step by step to request the right information from the hospital, and even though you spoke with me in the last final 24 hours of your partner’s life, we can absolutely help determine what may have gone wrong or what could have been done differently with a full review of his records.

This is not about legal action or making a complaint. It’s about getting truth, understanding, and peace of mind, purely for your own benefit.

Many families in intensive care we work with say that, even though it was hard to revisit what happened, getting honest expert insight and advice gave them the clarity, and they needed to finally start healing. When you’re ready, we’re here for you to finally get peace of mind and closure.

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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