Tracheostomy Care and Ventilation

Course Overview

Tracheostomy care is not a task. It is a responsibility.

The individuals being supported in the community with a tracheostomy are often living at home, supported by personal assistants or care workers who may be the only person present when something changes. There is no ward team down the corridor. There is no crash trolley. There is a care worker, an individual with an open surgical airway, and whatever knowledge and confidence that worker brings to that moment.

When a tube becomes blocked, displaced or dislodged, the window for safe response is short. When a ventilator alarm sounds, and nobody in the room knows what it means, that is not a training gap. That is a patient safety risk.

Our Tracheostomy Care and Ventilation training is built for care staff working directly with individuals who have a tracheostomy, with or without mechanical ventilation, in community and home settings. It combines clinical knowledge with hands-on practical work using real tracheostomy equipment, so that staff finish the course with genuine confidence in what they are doing and why.

This is not a clinical qualification, and it does not replace competency sign-off by the responsible clinician named in the individual’s care plan. What it does is prepare care staff to understand the airway they are responsible for, recognise what normal looks like, spot what is not, and act correctly within their authorised scope when it matters.

The course aligns with guidance from the National Tracheostomy Safety Project (NTSP), the leading UK authority on tracheostomy safety and education, and with CQC Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Course Details

  • Duration: Half day or full day, depending on the depth required and the needs of the service
  • Delivery: Face-to-face, in-house (strongly recommended for practical elements); theory elements can be delivered remotely via Zoom or Teams
  • Certificate: Tracheostomy Care and Ventilation training certificate
  • Validity: Annual refresh recommended, or in line with clinical competency requirements
  • Group size: Flexible

Who the Course Is For

This course is designed for care and support staff working directly with individuals who have a tracheostomy in community, domiciliary or supported living settings, including:

  • Care assistants and support workers in complex care
  • Personal assistants supporting individuals under Personal Health Budgets or Direct Payments
  • Domiciliary care staff supporting ventilated individuals at home
  • Supported living staff where care plans include tracheostomy management
  • Healthcare assistants working in community or complex care settings

It is particularly relevant for staff who:

  • Provide direct hands-on care to individuals with a tracheostomy
  • Support individuals using invasive or non-invasive ventilation at home
  • May be the sole carer present when a complication or emergency occurs
  • Need to recognise deterioration and know exactly what to do before clinical help arrives
  • Are new to tracheostomy care and need a structured, practical foundation

This course also serves as a structured refresher for registered nurses, including RGNs, supporting individuals with complex airway needs in community settings.

Why This Training Is Important

The community setting changes everything

Tracheostomy care in a hospital happens within reach of specialist teams, clinical equipment and immediate escalation pathways. Tracheostomy care at home happens in someone’s living room, with a personal assistant who may have been supporting that individual for weeks or months, and who knows them better than any clinician does, but who may never have received training that matches the clinical complexity of the care they are expected to deliver.

That gap is where things go wrong.

The National Tracheostomy Safety Project has spent over a decade documenting the recurring themes behind tracheostomy-related critical incidents. Tube displacement and obstruction are among the most common causes of harm. In many cases, the harm was preventable. In most cases, a trained first responder who knew what they were looking at would have made the difference.

For care providers supporting individuals with a tracheostomy at home, CQC Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires that staff have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to deliver care safely and to respond appropriately to clinical emergencies. That is not a box-ticking exercise. Inspectors assess whether staff can actually apply that knowledge when something happens. This course is one of the most direct ways a provider demonstrates that the standard is being met.

Training that works in the real world

A significant part of the Prima Cura tracheostomy training caseload involves supporting personal assistants working with Personal Health Budget holders in their own homes. These are often highly motivated, deeply committed individuals who care enormously about the person they support, but who come to this training with limited clinical background. The course has been built to meet them where they are: starting with clear anatomy and airway fundamentals, moving through hands-on work with real equipment, and finishing with staff who can perform stoma care, manage inner cannula cleaning and changes, and carry out full tube changes where they have been clinically authorised to do so. New PAs supporting someone with a tracheostomy for the first time have come into these sessions anxious and uncertain, and left with the confidence to deliver safe care on day one.

That is what this training is for.

What the regulations require

Under CQC Regulation 12, providers must ensure:

  • Care and treatment is delivered safely, with risks assessed and managed
  • Staff have the competence, skills and experience their role demands
  • There are arrangements to take appropriate action in clinical or medical emergencies
  • Equipment used in care is suitable, available and staff are trained in its use

For any provider whose staff support an individual with a tracheostomy, this training directly supports compliance with each of those requirements. It does not replace clinical competency sign-off, which remains the responsibility of the employer and the relevant clinician named in the individual’s care plan.

What You Will Learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  • Understand what a tracheostomy is, the anatomy of the airway it creates, and identify the tubes, components and equipment used in community care settings
  • Carry out routine tracheostomy care safely, including stoma care, inner cannula cleaning and changes, and full tube changes within their individually authorised scope of practice
  • Understand the principles of mechanical ventilation and what care staff need to know about working alongside ventilation equipment at home
  • Recognise the key complications covered in this course: tube displacement, tube blockage, cuff pressure issues, stoma site infection, ventilator disconnection and signs of respiratory deterioration
  • Respond correctly when a complication or emergency occurs, follow infection prevention requirements, and document and report care accurately in line with their organisation’s procedures
  • Understand the principles of suctioning and when it is needed, as preparation for competency sign-off by the responsible clinician

Course Content

  • Tracheostomy fundamentals: anatomy, airway management and why community care presents unique challenges
  • Types of tracheostomy tubes and equipment: cuffed, uncuffed, fenestrated, single and double lumen
  • Ventilation principles: invasive and non-invasive support in home and community settings
  • Routine care in practice: stoma care, skin and site assessment, personal care and hygiene
  • Hands-on practical: inner cannula cleaning and changes; full tube changes where clinically authorised
  • Recognising and responding to complications: tube displacement and accidental decannulation, tube blockage and mucus plug, cuff pressure issues, stoma site infection and breakdown, ventilator disconnection and alarm response, respiratory deterioration and when to call 999
  • Suctioning in principle: what it is, when it is needed and what it involves
  • Infection prevention and control in tracheostomy care
  • Emergency response: what to do, in what order, and what to tell the 999 operator
  • Documentation, reporting and scope of practice

How the Course Is Delivered

Face-to-face in-house delivery is strongly recommended for this course, and required for the practical elements. Remote delivery via Zoom or Teams is available for theory components only.

Where possible, training is delivered using the individual’s own equipment and care protocols, so that what staff practise in the session matches exactly what they will do on shift.

We have delivered this training in PHB holders’ homes, in supported living settings and in care providers’ own facilities. The environment matters. Training in a classroom with generic equipment is not the same as training in the space where care actually happens.

Training includes:

  • Hands-on practical work with real tracheostomy tubes and equipment
  • Inner cannula cleaning and tube change practice under trainer guidance
  • Recognition exercises based on the specific complications covered in this course
  • Emergency scenario work: what to do when a tube is displaced, blocked or a ventilator alarms
  • Discussion of suctioning in principle: what it involves, when it is needed and why clinical sign-off is required before staff carry it out independently
  • Integration of the individual’s own care plan, clinical protocols and escalation pathways wherever possible

Training is adapted to reflect the service type, the complexity of the individual being supported and the existing experience level of the staff group. A team of new PAs supporting a PHB holder for the first time needs something different from a group of experienced care workers who have refreshed after a period away from tracheostomy care. We build the session accordingly.

Certification and Validity

Learners receive a Tracheostomy Care and Ventilation training certificate on completion.

This course supports, but does not replace, clinical competency sign-off. The tasks that staff are authorised to perform, and the level of supervision required, are determined by the employer and the responsible clinician named in the individual’s care plan. This varies by service and by individual.

Annual refresher training is recommended, or sooner, where:

  • The individual’s care needs or clinical condition change
  • New equipment is introduced into the care setting
  • A staff member has a period away from tracheostomy care
  • An incident or near-miss occurs
  • Clinical guidance from the NTSP or relevant professional bodies is updated
  • CQC inspection feedback identifies gaps in staff competence or confidence

The NTSP guidance is clear that knowledge and skills in tracheostomy care must be actively maintained. A gap of more than six months without refreshing competencies warrants reassessment before staff return to independent practice.

In-House Training

All training is delivered in-house or remotely, and built around the individual being supported and the staff responsible for their care. We can:

  • Align training with the individual’s care plan, clinical protocols and escalation pathways
  • Use the individual’s own equipment wherever possible and appropriate
  • Adapt the content and depth to the staff group’s existing knowledge and experience
  • Incorporate your organisation’s documentation systems, incident reporting procedures and governance requirements
  • Support staff preparing for a formal competency sign-off by the responsible clinician

Generic training is not enough for complex care. This course is built around your actual environment, the person your staff are supporting and the real tasks they are authorised to perform.

Course Location and Service Areas

We deliver this training in-house at your workplace, the individual’s home or your chosen venue. For a course involving practical airway equipment, the setting matters. We bring the training to where care actually happens.

Our trainers work across Manchester and Greater Manchester, with regular delivery throughout the North West. We also deliver nationwide, covering the North East, Midlands, London, Surrey and across South England via our experienced associate network.

Every session, wherever it is delivered, is held to the same Prima Cura standard.

FAQs

Is this a clinical tracheostomy qualification?

No. This is a skills-based training course designed for care staff working with individuals who have a tracheostomy in community and home settings. It does not confer a clinical qualification, and it does not independently authorise staff to carry out any procedure. What it does is give care staff the knowledge, understanding and practical familiarity with real equipment to carry out the tasks they have been authorised to perform, safely and with confidence. Clinical competency sign-off remains the responsibility of the employer and the relevant clinician named in the individual’s care plan.

What practical tasks do staff get to do in this session?

Learners handle real tracheostomy tubes and equipment throughout the session. Practical elements include inner cannula cleaning and changes, and full tube changes for staff who have been clinically authorised to perform them under the individual’s care plan. Suctioning is covered in principle so that staff understand what it is, when it is needed and what it involves, as preparation for clinical competency sign-off. Suctioning practice is not included in this course; that assessment is carried out by the responsible clinician.

Can staff carry out tube changes after this training?

Yes. However, they must be authorised to do so by their employer and the responsible clinician named in the individual’s care plan. This course provides the knowledge and hands-on familiarity to support that sign-off, not to replace it. Whether a member of staff is authorised to change inner cannulas only or to carry out full tube changes is determined by the individual’s clinical needs and the governance arrangements in place within their service.

What should staff do if a tube becomes displaced or blocked?

Follow the emergency procedures in the individual’s care plan and call 999. Do not attempt to reinsert a displaced tube unless specifically trained and authorised to do so. The NTSP emergency algorithms set out clear first-responder actions for tracheostomy emergencies and are worth familiarising yourself with alongside this training. This course covers recognition, correct initial response and what to communicate to emergency services in detail.

Who signs off on clinical competency after this training?

Competency sign-off varies by service and individual. It is typically carried out by the clinical nurse specialist, community respiratory nurse, community nursing team or other clinician named in the individual’s care plan, depending on the governance arrangements in place. This course prepares staff for that sign-off. It does not replace it.

How often should training be refreshed?

Annually, as a minimum, or sooner if care needs change, new equipment is introduced, an incident occurs, or staff have been away from tracheostomy care for more than six months. The NTSP is explicit that skills in this area must be actively maintained, not assumed to persist from initial training alone.

Can this course be used as a refresher for registered nurses?

Yes. RGNs working in community settings who support individuals with a tracheostomy can use this course as a structured refresher to update their practical knowledge, familiarise themselves with current NTSP guidance and emergency protocols, and maintain confidence in hands-on care. The content is adapted to reflect the existing clinical knowledge of the group.

Can the course be tailored to our service and the individual we support?

Yes, and we strongly recommend it. A PA supporting one PHB holder at home needs training built around that individual’s tube type, equipment, care plan and escalation pathway. A complex care provider supporting several ventilated individuals across multiple services needs something broader. We build the session around the people your staff are responsible for, not around a generic case study.

Related Courses

Book or Enquire

If your staff are supporting someone with a tracheostomy at home and need training that reflects the real complexity of that responsibility, get in touch. We will build a session around your service, your staff and the individual in their care.

Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance

At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice.

All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.

This course is reviewed against updates from the National Tracheostomy Safety Project, the Care Quality Commission, the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, and current UK clinical guidance and legislation, including the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.

Reviewed by Stephanie Austin– Owner & Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer
Last reviewed: April 2026 | Next review: April 2027

This course provides skills-based training for care staff supporting individuals with tracheostomy and ventilation needs in community settings. It does not replace clinical training, competency sign-off or the governance requirements set out in the individual’s care plan and organisational policies. All care must be delivered in line with the individual’s clinical care plan, the instructions of the responsible clinician, and the authorised scope of practice of each member of staff. In an airway emergency, call 999 immediately.

< back

Enquire about Tracheostomy Care and Ventilation