THE East Lancashire Hospitals Trust has been specially selected to take part in a national initiative to improve care for tracheostomy patients.

Funded by the Health Foundation, the projects aims to develop the safety and quality of care through collaboration with sites from across the world.

Tracheotomies are small plastic tubes that are inserted into the neck to act as artificial airways or they can be used to suction out any fluid that has built up in the throat or windpipe.

Dr Matthew Atkinson, Critical care consultant at Royal Blackburn Hospital, will be leading the project at the Trust.

He said: "We are very fortunate to have been invited to take part in this national QI project.

"Engagement with this project will also allow our Trust to access additional training materials and resources, to improve the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals providing care for tracheostomy patients within the Trust.”

This is a joint collaboration between the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative which will run for three years to improve outcomes for patients.

This is following the pilot project recently being shortlisted for a British Medical Journal award and a Health Service Journal Value award, for demonstrating significant improvements in the safety and efficiency of care across four North West Trusts.

A tracheostomy may be created for a number of reasons including to deliver oxygen to the lungs when a person is unable to breathe normally after an injury or accident, to allow a person to breathe if their throat is blocked and to reduce the risk of food or fluid going into the lungs if a patient finds coughing difficult.

Around 15,000 patients in England and Wales have new tracheotomies every year and need competent and knowledgeable care to keep them safe as airway problems can become rapidly fatal.

Dr. Brendan McGrath, NHS England lead for tracheostomy care and project lead, said: “We are extremely excited to be working with Dr Atkinson and the trust to improve the care of a particularly vulnerable group of patients.

"Involvement in the project demonstrates the vision to provide safer yet more efficient care by finding innovative ways of working.”