Sidra Medical and Research Centre (Sidra) has become the first ever hospital from the Middle East to join the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (GTC). There are currently 40 hospitals worldwide as part of the collaborative.
The GTC is a non-profit organisation where multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals from around the world collaborate and share knowledge to improve the quality of care for patients with a tracheostomy - an incision in the windpipe made to relieve obstructions to breathing. Sidra’s membership is being led by Dr Patrick Sheehan, division chief for Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery.
“We are designing a quality of care and service that will feature evidence-based best practice methodologies from around the world. By joining the GTC, this is an opportunity for Sidra to get our tracheostomy care ready for the highest levels of practice. Our tracheostomy care team involves staff from nursing, speech and language therapy, education, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU),” said Sheehan.
As a member of the GTC, Sidra’s tracheostomy care team will have access to learning resources, case studies and a global database with information from member hospitals about the care of children who have tracheostomies.
The database highlights practices that provide better outcomes for tracheostomy patients - allowing members to consider adapting or customising them within their own healthcare settings. This will ultimately improve patient care and prevent possible problems or even fatalities. All data sharing is anonymised and patient confidentiality is not compromised.
“Tracheostomy care is not always perfect in hospitals and adverse events can happen, often due to human error. Simple interventions can make a big difference. The GTC was set up so that hospitals can work together to deliver and benchmark themselves to provide the best possible care,” Sheehan said.
The formal launch of Sidra’s GTC membership will be showcased at the International Society for Quality in Health (ISQua) conference in Doha to be held from October 4 to 7. Sheehan will be leading a team from Sidra at a breakout session on the opening day of the conference.