Being the leader of your family
All family members would like to receive daily news about their beloved ones' health. Answering and satisfying this request is of primary importance for the Intensive Care Staff that wants to conciliate relatives' needs with the necessity of dedicating time to patients care.
That's why is so important that the family elects a leader, a rapresentative figure that receives daily news from caregivers and reports them to the others. Always referring to the same family member will also avoid misunderstandings.
The family leader will be firstly informed of any relevant changing situation and decision regardind his/her loved one; that's why the leader must leave his/her personal phone number to the staff.
The family and the leader must take all the important decisions togheter so that a single person doesn't feel the responsabilty of choises on his/her own shoulders. These choices are shared by family members with the support of health care workers. If everyone makes a contribution, the situation becomes more understandable and it becomes possible to accept difficult decision for family members.