Category Clinical Governance
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Breaking Bad News to Patients and Relatives

Bad news has been defined as “any information which adversely and seriously affects an individual's view of his or her future” (Baille et al, 2000). Effective communication doesn't happen by chance, it requires a systematic, considered approach
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Open Disclosure

Open Disclosure is the process of communicating with a patient and/or their support person(s) about a patient-related incident or harm caused during the process of healthcare
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Tissue Donation

many more tissue donors available than organ donors; less time critical; early notification allows collection of blood specimens for nucleic acid testing and screening for viral infections; more exclusion criteria (may require full post-mortem to exclude CJD)
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Palliative Care

Palliative care is distinct from curative care, which is primarily disease-specific and focused on restoration of health; Palliative care is not synonymous with end of life care, but is an important part of end of life care; As 10-20% of ICU patients will die, the transition from cure to comfort is a common and important decision to make
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

End-of-Life Care Family Meeting

The End-of-Life Care Family Meeting is a core component of ICU care; Evidence suggests that communication with families is often inadequate; The principles apply to end-of-life discussions in other settings (e.g. ED) as well
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Brain Death Hot Case

Brain death is the irreversible loss of all functions of the brain, including the brainstem. The three essential findings in brain death are coma (unresponsiveness), absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnoea
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Observations Compatible and Incompatible with Brain Death

To make the diagnosis of brain death the examiner must be able recognise responses that do not require brain function; stimulus-provoked movements should be termed reflexes and spontaneous movements termed automatisms; brain death-associated automatisms may be present in up to 50% of brain death cases
CCC Critical Care compendium 340

Management of the organ donation patient

OVERVIEW Involves these steps: Early identification Establish rapport with family early Non-coercive discussion with family regarding opportunity to donate Initiate tissue typing, organ function testing and viral screening Maintain extra-cerebral physiological stability Facilitate family time at the bedside Ensure aftercare…