Comprehensive Tracheostomy Care

Comprehensive Tracheostomy Care is a resource developed by the UK National Tracheostomy Safety Project (NTSP) to help promote and facilitate the safe management of tracheostomies and laryngectomies.

The scope includes hospital in-patient specialist areas such as critical care, head & neck units and specialist wards, but it is also applicable to more general wards, outpatient and community settings. The majority of the content is for adult patients, complemented by a dedicated paediatric chapter developed with colleagues from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The manual is a 'one stop shop' covering all aspects of tracheostomy and laryngectomy management. It includes multidisciplinary resources from surgical, anaesthetic, nursing, intensive care and allied health backgrounds, along with guidance from key UK stakeholder organisations. Emergency guidance has been reviewed and endorsed by relevant Royal Colleges, national organisations and patient groups.

It takes into account many national and international guidelines, policies and resources. It has been developed by consulting as widely as possible, across traditional professional boundaries using expertise and existing guidance from around the world, including the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (www.globaltrach.org). Relevant existing resources are brought together coherently, with new resources presented in easy-to-follow text, illustrations, photographs and innovative linked e-learning and interactive resources.

Brendan McGrath, Consultant in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, Honorary Senior Lecturer, University Hospital of South Manchester.