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Hi it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVECAREATHOME.COM.AU where we provide tailor made solutions for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomy by improving their Quality of life and where we also provide tailor made solutions to hospitals and Intensive Care Units to save money and resources, whilst providing Quality Care!
In last week’s blog I talked about
“CAN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS ON A VENTILATOR GO HOME TO DIE?”
You can check out last week’s BLOG here!
In this week’s BLOG I want to talk about
“ARE INTENSIVE CARE UNITS OPERATING IN A VACUUM WHEN IT COMES TO END OF LIFE SITUATIONS?”
Last year I attended a presentation at the ANZICS Intensive Care conference in Melbourne, where one of the presenters was talking about a study they had done in their Intensive Care Unit about how Families experienced death and end of life of their loved one in Intensive Care.
The outcomes of the study weren’t overly surprising and it very much came down that Families wanted to have good communication, get them involved in the process, have dignity, respect and privacy at the end of the life of their loved one. They also wanted to have their cultural, religious and spiritual needs met.
And there was another issue that was highlighted that stood out to me where a solution to the problem hadn’t been provided.
Families wanted to have their loved one dying at home and not in Intensive Care!
This goes hand in hand with other studies and surveys that have been done in the recent past.
For example, Palliative Care Australia issued a study last year that 75% of Australians wanted to die at home and yet less than 20% actually do die at home.
Related article:
PALLIATIVE CARE AUSTRALIA IS CALLING FOR BETTER END OF LIFE CARE SERVICES!
So where do people die, if they are not dying at home?
Well, I am sure you guessed it, they die in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and Intensive Care Units!
Going back to the presentation that I attended to last year at the ANZICS Intensive Care conference, I asked the presenter how he would want to solve the issue of Families wanting their loved ones to die at home, instead of Intensive Care.
The response that I got from the presenter to my question was that it would be “too difficult” to take Intensive Care Patients at the end of their lives home and that it would be almost “impossible” to do that.
I then asked “So are you saying that Intensive Care Units operate in a vacuum and don’t give people what they want?”
I also provided a solution to the problem by offering INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services and also pointed towards this solution being available in other countries for nearly two decades.
I strongly believe in giving people choice and giving them what they want, especially in end of life and death situations, especially if the situation is manageable and foreseeable!
Having seen many poorly handled end of life situations in Intensive Care, where people felt, bitter and disappointed have always left me feeling that there is a better way.
Getting Patients and families involved at the end of their lives and giving them choice is not optional, it should be a given in a 1st world country like Australia!
If more than 2/3 of the population wants to die at home, we need to stop making excuses why we can’t give people what they want!
What are your thoughts?
Do you think that Intensive Care Units operate in a vacuum when it comes to end of life and death situations? Do you think that Intensive Care Patients should have the option to die at home if they wish to?
Leave your comments on the blog!
Please also note that INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME has been selected as a preferred provider for Queensland Health Services as part of the recent “Hospital in the Home” tender.
We are also currently hiring enthusiastic and experienced Intensive Care nurses with Critical Care certificate for a ventilated Melbourne Client, close to the CBD. For more information check out our Career section here www.intensivecareathome.com.au/careers or contact Patrik on 041 094 2230
You can also contact me on 041 094 2230 if you want to know more about how we can help you, your Intensive Care Unit and your Patients and Families.
Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog.
This is Patrik Hutzel from www.intensivecareathome.com.au and I’ll see you again in another update next week.