Patient's families

In ICU, a lot of the patients are critically ill and there is a constant stream of emotional family members and friends visiting. Each visitor wants to know how the patient is going/what progress has been made. I personally have not been asked by any of my patient’s visitors about the patient, because there is always a nurse near the bed who is obviously more aware of the patient’s condition that I- having been with them all day.

Recently I overheard a brother of my patient asking the nurse for information about how the patient was going- and the nurse refused to disclose any more than basic information about the patient. She tactfully explained to the brother that the patient’s wife was the next of kin/primary contact person and they only tend to disclose information to that one person- as they have had many bad experiences before with family members getting different information at different times and people getting upset with them that they have not been told important information first. It wasn’t something I had really thought about but I completely understand why the nursing and medical staff would be reluctant to disclose information to all visitors- considering how quickly these patients’ status can change. I also understand how some family members would be very frustrated with this, however I think the way the nurse explained it was very clear and reasonable- and the brother was instructed that he wasn’t being denied information, but that he should get the information from the patient’s wife instead, as she was being constantly updated.

Just thought it was an interesting point that probably isn’t considered often enough. These patient’s families are obviously very emotional and it is important that consistent information is passed on at all times. The system that ICU has in place I believe to be a good idea.