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Blogs by David W. Page
Hospital failure events 2/2/2015 11:32:57 AM
Transfer from the ICU to a floor is dangerous. Over a quarter of all patients who experience unexpected deterioration of their clinical condition go on to die in the hospital. Most often it's from respiratory failure -- the inability to breathe adequately -- according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in 2014 by Thomas S. Helling and associates. The problem is premature discharge from the ICU or from the Post Anesthesia Unit after a major operation. Almost certainly the two high risk areas of the hospital transfer sick patients to the regular floor because they need the acute beds. Ninety per cent of all failure to rescue events are from patients transferred from ICU or PACU before the patient was ready for a lesser level of care. So you need a PCT - personal care team (family or friends of any number (best 1-3)who will stay in the hospital at the bedside to help the nursing staff care for you or your loved one. The doctor picked it up only a third of the time and more than a third of these unexpected events are preventable. Don't fight the nurses. Offer to help to look for things coming unglued. Sometimes you just don't feel well or you don't look well. If so, someone needs to check your vital signs and other things such as your wound. Be polite. Be vigilant.
