Extubation question regarding 60 year old

[KingPong]

So April 15th my father was admitted to hospital with a severe bleed on the brain took over 3 hours to get to hospital. He is still here and on no pain killers and no Sedation but is showing very little movement and eyes are opening but without purpose. He has got a brain infection from the evd and is currently on anti biotics. We the family have asked before any decisions are made to ensure the infection is clear and give him a few days from then providing there is no organ failure (currently all organs are good, bowel movement, stomach absorbing food) or second stroke to regain conciousness but have being told today that they have done a CT and the thalamus, internal capsule are completely wrecked and the Basal Ganglia has also being effected so the doctor does not think he will ever regain consciousness and wants to extubate end of the week.

Have being told previously although he initiates his breath the ventilator then pushes 30% oxygen concentration and that he probably won't be able to complete a whole breath himself so by extubating him at the end of the week he will not be able to breathe and will inadvertently die of suffocation I guess.

Can the NHS do this even after advising we want to give him a bit longer as he is only 60, isn't brain stem death and all his organs are working, inflammatory markers are the high end of normal. I want to believe he will wake up and he technically isn't in a permanent vegetative stage for another 5 months.

It feels like they can't be bothered to do a tracheostomy and move him on to a ward then have him there potentialy for several more months before making a conclusive answer as to whether he will regain conciusness.

On a different note can I ask to see the scans, CTs, medical record of my father whilst he is still here or do I have to request it all afterwards?

Also if they push for extubation will it be done in theatre or just in the icu? So could we be there and hold his hands if he does go

[Sepsur]

Hi @KingPong

That all sounds very desperate with your poor father.

I don’t know any of the normal procedures I’m afraid but I do know that if you are unsure about what your father’s team are electing to do, you can request a second opinion.

[LeopardGecko]

I'm so sorry to hear what you and your family are going through.

With regard to medical notes, I asked to see my husband's notes while he was in HDU after being in ICU (for work purposes). I needed to have power of attorney in order to request them - so it is possible. However, they said that they couldn't give me any of the current notes as the doctors were still working with them. I could only get paperwork from his admission to hospital and the time he spent in resus. Your hospital may be different - it was the Subject Access Request Team that I dealt with.