Training of community teams providing respiratory support for infants 'inadequate'

The training of community teams caring for children needing respiratory support in their own homes can be inadequate, clinical leads have revealed in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

The CQC investigated the management of long-term respiratory care for infants in the community, including tracheotomies, in England.

Anyone caring for children on long-term respiratory support in the home should have training in ventilation and resuscitation, among other skills, says the CQC report.

Inadequate training

But training of community teams, including nurses, is not adequate, according to half of the clinical leads for long-term ventilation networks across England questioned in the report.

One lead told the CQC: ‘Community teams do not get the same training and experience as staff within a tertiary service.

‘They do not see ventilated children often and may not have enough staff to care for them in their local hospital.

‘These children may be clinically stable but with high nursing need.’  

The CQC team received feedback from 8 ventilation network leads.

CCG questions

It also questioned 16 clinical commissioning groups and nearly all said clinical supervision is offered to staff who care for infants in need of long-term ventilation and tracheotomy.

De Montfort University senior lecturer in children’s nursing Doreen Crawford, who was consulted for the report, pointed out that there are no national requirements for the technical elements of respiratory support to be covered in pre-registration and post-registration programmes.

‘New registrants can emerge from universities having never cared for a complex needs child requiring this level of support,’ she said.

The CQC recommended that when commissioning care for infants needing long-term ventilation, commissioners should insist all staff have the appropriate training and competencies.

Further information

CQC report