A project to improve tracheostomy care has been shortlisted for two prestigious national awards.
The SHINE tracheostomy project has been shortlisted in both the British Medical Journal Awards and the Health Service Journal Value in Healthcare Awards.
A tracheostomy is a tube inserted in the neck which allows a person to breathe without the use of their nose or mouth. It is often used to help patients recover from severe illness or breathe after complex head and neck surgery.
Across the world, tracheostomy care is high risk, with a significant mortality rate.
The SHINE tracheostomy project, funded by the Health Foundation, began as part of a global initiative to ensure medical and nursing staff, who care for people with tracheostomies, have all the education and training they need to provide the safest care.
Involving staff from Stepping Hill Hospital, together with Wythenshawe, Macclesfield and Tameside Hospitals, the project has been shortlisted in the ‘Anaesthesia Team’ category at the British Medical Journal Awards and the ‘General Medicine’ category at the Health Service Journal Value awards.
Dr Sadie Khwaja is the project lead at Stepping Hill Hospital, together with practice based educator Val Poole and physiotherapist Lindsay Harvey.
Dr Khwaja said: “Working together with our partners in other hospitals, this project is making great steps to improve care and safety for our patients with tracheostomies.
“It’s a great honour to be recognised for this achievement.”
