ICU diary principles for intensive care patients

Principles of the ICU diary

Writing in the ICU diary means :

Contribute to reconstructing your loved one's history, to fill in the periods of true unconsciousness or altered consciousness (confusion, amnesia, delirium), to give the patient back his or her story: you write a fragment of his or her life that he or she will not remember, to enable him or her to rebuild his or her life afterwards;
Explicitly demonstrate your presence, commitment and support;
This is an effective way of limiting or even eliminating the risk of psychological after-effects caused by serious illness, amnesia and sometimes uncomfortable and misunderstood care;
A way for the patient to understand the ordeals his or her body has been through, and to facilitate understanding and acceptance of the time needed for recovery;
A way of communicating with your loved one in your absence;
A way to distribute non-sensitive non-sensitive to friends and family;
Un moyen de lui communiquer votre affection, de lui permettre de comprendre ce que vous aussi, vous traversez durant ce séjour en réanimation;

The ICU diary is NOT :

A grievance book: You'll sometimes feel the need to express frustrations, complaints or criticisms, but the ICU diary must remain a tool for the patient and his or her reconstruction. Keep this in mind with every message you write.

You can address any complaints you may have directly to the medical and paramedical staff accompanying your loved one, or make an appointment to discuss them with the department managers (head of department, paramedical staff). Each hospital also has a user exchange service that you can contact.

Un journal intime : Un journal de bord est idéalement un document ouvert à tous. Ainsi tous peuvent y écrire mais également en lire le contenu. Si vous souhaitez partager avec le patient des pensées intimes, des émotions privées ou des commentaires pouvant blesser d’autres rédacteurs du journal, n’hésitez pas à les rédiger sur un papier libre que vous glisserez dans une enveloppe scellée que vous pourrez coller dans le cahier, toujours à la date du jour, afin de respecter la chronologie, qui sera importante pour le patient dans sa quête de mémoire. L’application Lifemapp Diary, sécurisée et prévue à cet effet, permet de créer des cercles de confidentialité et de rédiger des messages privés uniquement consultables par le patient. N’hésitez pas à vous renseigner sur l’application auprès du personnel soignant.
A medical record: In order to respect professional secrecy, entries should not include precise diagnostic details. Should the patient feel the need to do so, he or she can request a copy of his or her hospital record, or even a copy of his or her medical file, from the hospital director, and make an appointment with one of the department's doctors to obtain any explanations he or she may require.