Tracheostomy and respiratory care
Our teams are highly trained, and our homes are adequately equipped, to safely care for people with tracheostomies and other complex respiratory requirements.
Referral to admission
From the first point referral, we take a person-centred approach to tracheostomy and respiratory care.
Our Clinical Assessors work with individuals and professionals to understand their care needs prior to admission, and develop a personalised care plan to ensure their safety.
When someone moves into one of our care homes, we take the time to get to know them, and carry out an in-depth assessment to understand their holistic care needs, including their communication needs.
We also work closely with other members of the Multidisciplinary Team such as Speech and Language Therapists and Assisted Technology Specialists, to enable our service users to have the best opportunity to fulfil their communication needs.
High staffing levels to enable attentive care
Our homes are led by an experienced Nurse-led management team, and supported by a trained in-house team of Registered Nurses and Health Care Assistants.
Each of our homes has a high ratio of Registered Nurses and Health Care Assistants, which enables us to provide attentive care and minimise the risk of, and respond to, complications which may arise from their complex respiratory needs.
Proactive care from trained in-house teams
Our Health Care Assistants and Registered Nurses are trained to complete daily tracheostomy care such as cleaning the stoma site, changing tapes and dressing, changing inner tubes as per individual protocols, using sterile suction techniques and ensuring that the correct Heat and Moisture Exchange (HME) is used, including mechanical HME.
They regularly monitor basic vital signs, including temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturations, and are able to detect early warning signs of infection and respond appropriately.
Colleagues are trained in emergency care and follow the National Tracheostomy Safety Project emergency protocol, alongside individual emergency protocols issued by the Respiratory Teams that manage service user care as outpatients.
Our teams are also experienced in the use of Passy Muir Valves (PMV) for those that use them, and Invasive Ventilation (IV) for those who require invasive respiratory support from a ventilator, both short and long term.
We have an in-house competency process to train and validate our Nurses to complete full tracheostomy change, either routine or in an emergency.
This ensures that our care is proactive and dynamic, which reduces the need for hospital admission.
In-house physiotherapy and life skills development
Many of our homes have in-house Physiotherapists who can carry out respiratory assessments, and advise on suction techniques, patient positioning and optimal respiratory therapy.
Our Life Skills Teams work with people to support them to adapt to life with a tracheostomy and respiratory needs, so they can continue to live a full and fulfilling life in the way they choose.
We’ve also facilitated training for family and friends to enable those with a tracheostomy or complex respiratory needs to maintain their connections and activities outside of the home.
Staff training for tracheostomy and respiratory care
Our in-house clinical experts deliver bespoke training to ensure that colleagues are confident and competent to understand people’s needs and deliver safe tracheostomy and respiratory care, including with those who display behaviours of concern.
We tailor training to the needs of our service users, and colleagues are empowered to develop personalised plans for addressing behaviours of concern.
We review training and competencies regularly to ensure that colleagues are up-to-date with their knowledge and skills.