Communication

 

 Communication among patients, relatives, and operators is an important and delicate part of an ICU work.

Those who are hospitalized in the ICU are often not able to speak, even if temporarely; for this reason, gestures and glances become crucial. Doctors and nurses in ICU are always present at patient's bedside, they are responsible for their safety and focused on their needs: they can be a way for the patient to be understood, at least at the beginning.

Every day at fixed times (different for each ICU), the physician gives reports of patients' clinical performance to their families; these talks, which deal with sensitive and often painful issues, take place in a private room. It 'important to try to focus in these moments on all questions and doubts. The same person should always be informed and updated from the medical staff, in order to promote continuity of information.

The relatives know the experience of their beloved ones: talking with operators, you can find together the best way to calm or reassure a patient or even to provide the most appropriate care at that time.

The operators know the meaning of current therapies: by making the relatives understand it, you can create the best conditions in order to consciously choose the best therapeutic strategies. Moreover, awareness of the need and the sense of a cure makes therapy more acceptable for both relatives and patients.