Tracheostomy management in acute care facilities--a matter of teamwork.

Aim: Implement and evaluate an inter-disciplinary team approach to tracheostomy management in non-critical care.

Background: Trends towards early tracheostomy in intensive care units (ICU) have led to increased numbers of tracheostomy patients. Together with the push for earlier discharge from ICU, this poses challenges across disciplines and wards.

Trends and challenges in the management of tracheostomy in older people: the need for a multidisciplinary team approach.

The trend towards increasing representation of older people as recipients of health care in acute care settings is matched with a corresponding increase in the numbers of older people undergoing tracheostomy.The reasons for tracheostomy in this age group are varied, including respiratory failure, neurological injury/event and carcinomas. Further, current research supports early tracheostomy for patients requiring medium to long-term ventilation and unconscious patients at risk of airway obstruction.