National Tracheostomy Safety Project

Why is it important for health professionals to have training in tracheostomies? In this video by the National Tracheostomy Safety Project (NTSP), we hear from the team behind the NTSP, Dr Brendan McGrath Consultant in Anaesthetist and Intensivist in Manchester and National Clinical Advisor on Tracheostomy for the NHS, Dr Peter Alexander, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensivist, and Mr Jay Goswami, Consultant Ear Nose and Throat surgeon.

The NTSP is a UK charity dedicated to improving the quality and safety of care for patients with tracheostomies and laryngectomies through education.

The Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (GTC) is a Quality Improvement Collaboration between hospitals around the world with similar aims to the NTSP, and providing additional resources to support change in our healthcare systems. The five standards promoted by the GTC are:

• Team Based Care, including regular multidisciplinary meetings
• Standard Protocols implemented by all members of the team
• Staff Education
• Patient and Caregiver Involvement in all aspects of care
• Data Collection to track progress and compare outcomes

The NTSP secured funding from the Health Foundation to implement the GTC resources into 20 diverse UK hospitals in 2016. This project is called Improving Tracheostomy Care (ITC).

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What are the advantages of standardising protocols, care and education about tracheostomies?

Later this week we will see how the principles of the GTC and the NTSP are applied by the Trachy Team at The Royal London Hospital.