ABSTRACT
It is estimated that within the United Kingdom (UK) around 5000 surgical tracheostomies are performed during head or neck surgery. In addition, it is also speculated that around 10,000-15,000 percutaneous tracheostomies are inserted at the bedside, within critical care units (McGrath, 2014). Consequently, patients with tracheostomies are commonly located within critical care environments or specialist surgical wards, for example wards caring for patients following complex head or neck surgery. However, due to the rising numbers of patients receiving this intervention and pressures on critical care facilities, the patient with a tracheostomy may also be found in general or respiratory ward settings. This can pose unique patient safety challenges for the generalist
workforce, owing to the potential lack of specialist skills and knowledge required to care for this complex patient group (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death [NCEPOD], 2014).
