New safety collaborative will improve outcomes for patients with tracheostomies

A new Health Foundation funded project aims to improve care and outcomes for patients with tracheostomies both in the NHS and around the world. The announcement comes on the day of the launch of the European Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (GTC) – a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, allied health clinicians and patients working together to disseminate best practice - during an event at the Royal College of Surgeons in central London,  which includes a guest talk from Professor Stephen Hawking.

Tracheostomies are artificial airways that are inserted into the necks of patients undergoing certain surgical procedures and to facilitate weaning from mechanical ventilation. Around 15,000 tracheostomies are performed each year in England and Wales.

A recent report by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) revealed unacceptably high levels of harm were occurring in this complex group of patients, often due to a basic lack of training and equipment provision.

The new Health Foundation project implementing best practice from GTC into NHS hospitals in Manchester will offer solutions to many of the challenges identified in the NCEPOD report.

A team at the University Hospital of South Manchester will lead the project which will see the introduction of accessible infrastructural, educational and practical resources to improve the safety and quality of care for this vulnerable group of patients. Local ‘champions’ in four different sites in Manchester will set targets specific to their own hospitals with the ambition of improving care which can be benchmarked against international hospitals and standards through the GTC’s database.

The team will be headed up by Dr Brendan McGrath, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine at University Hospital of South Manchester, who comments: 'It is exciting to be part of the team translating these innovative quality improvement measures into hospitals in the NHS, Europe and around the world. The GTC has demonstrated significant improvements in care in exemplar institutions and aim to offer the resources to all institutions who care for patients with tracheostomies. The GTC offers ready-made solutions to many of the problems highlighted in the recent NCEPOD report and we are well placed to improve care for patients with the help of the Heath Foundation.'

Dr Jane Jones, Assistant Director at the Health Foundation, comments: 'This is a great opportunity for this leading team to raise awareness of risks and reduce variation in tracheostomy care across four hospital sites in the Manchester area, with a view to sharing the results globally. The aim of this project is to ensure reliable care for patients and avoid recurrent problems associated with a tracheostomy which can ultimately lead to avoidable harm, mortality and unnecessary health care costs. We look forward to seeing the longer-term benefits of the project on patient care and the health service overall.'

The GTC’s European launch is at the Royal College of Surgeons, London, on Monday 7 July 2014, and has a team of international quality improvement and tracheostomy experts explaining how NHS and European hospitals can work together to improve care. The event has attracted high profile support, with Professor Stephen Hawking among keynote speakers, alongside experts from the Health Foundation. 

Notes to editors

Implementing the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative quality improvement project has been awarded through Shine 2014, a Health Foundation programme that aims to develop innovations that will improve health care quality.

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Mike Findlay, Media Manager
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E: mike.findlay@health.org.uk