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Quick Tip for Families in Intensive Care: Is It Medical Negligence in ICU Not to Prevent Sepsis, Poor Nutrition & Not Provide Pressure Area Care?

Is it medical negligence for an ICU that forced my mother to go to an LTAC (Long-Term Acute Care) and didn’t prevent sepsis and didn’t feed my mother in the PEG (Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy) well enough, or turn her enough and develop pressure sores on a ventilator with a tracheostomy? That is the question I’m going to answer today.

My name is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecarehotline.com, and this is another quick tip for families in intensive care.

So, this question forms part of a medical record review

that we’ve done recently for one of our clients. The family is pretty distressed thinking that the ICU wasn’t acting in the best interest of their mother. That, unfortunately, ultimately led their mother to pass away. That’s why I always say you need help from Day 1. Medical record review is all fine. But the bottom line is you need help when you have a family member in intensive care, you don’t need a medical record review after it’s all said and done, because then it’s often too late.

Let’s look at the answer, “During the acute phase of sepsis, feeding can often be delayed or restricted because of the body’s inflammatory response and metabolic changes can make it difficult to digest and absorb nutrients, potentially leading to complications. Feeding during the acute phase of sepsis can also increase the risk of complications such as aspiration pneumonia, vomiting, and gut ischemia. The priority is always to stabilize the patient and address the underlying infection, and nutritional support is often deferred until a patient is more stable.

Sepsis can cause significant dysfunction in the gastrointestinal tract, including reduced blood flow, impaired motility, gut motility, I should say, and increased permeability, which can impede the delivery and absorption of nutrients.

It is important that end of life wishes are honoured. Respecting a patient’s wishes and values at the end of life not only honours the patient’s life, of course, and personal belief, but also provides dignified conclusions to someone’s life’s journey. End of life ethics navigate complex decisions of medical care and treatment options and the right to refuse treatment or the right to ask for treatment, alleviate patients’ sufferings and limit treatment options at the end of life, maintaining a patient’s dignity and respect throughout the end of life process.”

But the situation also raises several serious concerns that might point to medical negligence, determining whether that qualifies legally depends on specifics, facts and documentation here is obviously a breakdown. Well, whenever there’s a force transfer to an LTAC, LTAC, by the way, stands for long-term acute care, the concern here is that if ICU pressured or pushed for the transfer despite a family’s objections or your mother not being medically stable for a transfer, it could be questionable.

Is it negligence? It depends on whether the transfer went against established medical guidelines or lacked informed consent. Forcing a transfer without proper planning or medical justification can sometimes be grounds for a complaint.

Next, sepsis development. Concern: Sepsis is a common but serious complication in ventilated and immobile patients. If there were signs of infection that went untreated or unnoticed, this might be negligence. If sepsis could have been prevented with proper hygiene, turning schedules, or wound care, it may suggest a failure in standard care.

Next, inadequate feeding through the PEG tube. Concern: Malnutrition or dehydration through improper PEG tube management is very serious. Is it negligence? Staff didn’t monitor intake, didn’t flush the tube, or let your mother become undernourished, that may be a deviation from standard care.

Failure to turn and repositioning. Concern: Not turning patients regularly can lead to pressure ulcers and infections. Is it negligence? Pressure area care is one of the most basic standards in ICU and LTAC. Failing to do this could definitely be considered negligence.

So what can you do? Like we always say here at intensivecarehotline.com, request medical records. Get your mother’s full medical chart, including nursing notes, turning schedules, nutrition logs, wound care documentation and infection tracking.

File a complaint. You can file a complaint with the state medical board, hospital administration, or department of health, and file for a legal review. Medical malpractice attorney can review records and help determine if this rises to the level of legal and medical negligence.

So, like I always say, 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. So, that’s exactly what you are up against here. That’s why I’m saying you need help from Day 1 when you have a loved one critically ill in intensive care.

99.9% of families in intensive care completely underestimate how critical and dangerous it is to have a loved one in intensive care. Let things unfold. You need to understand from Day 1 what’s exactly happening, what are your rights, what questions do you need to ask. Are ICU teams really doing the right things? You need a second opinion from Day 1 so you’re not flying blind.

I hope that helps you answer your questions.

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 critical 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 for our clients in intensive care. You can verify that if you go to our intensivecarehotline.com testimonial section at intensivecarehotline.com or if you go to intensivecarehotline.com podcast section where we have done client interviews. When you read the testimonials or you watch the podcast with our clients, you will recognize that our advice is absolutely life changing. It’s absolutely life-changing.

You can join a growing number of members and clients that we have helped over the years to improve their lives instantly, making sure they make informed decisions, have peace of mind, control, power, and influence, making sure their loved ones get best care and treatment always.

That’s why I do one on one consulting and advocacy over the phone, Zoom, Skype, 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 can’t afford to get wrong. I make sure you ask the right questions. I make sure you understand everything that’s happening with your critically ill loved one so that you can ask the right questions and get the right outcomes. I also talk to doctors and nurses directly on your behalf or with you or I set you up with the right questions. I’ll make sure I ask 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 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. 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 videos and 21 e-books that only are exclusively accessible to our members. All of that will help you to 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 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.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on a show. You will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or if you are a subscriber to 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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