Respiratory Care Initiative of the Year

Ambulatory Home Ventilation service : Liverpool University Hospitals FT

The home ventilation team based at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides a service for Merseyside, Cheshire and part of Lancashire. Previously any patient needing home ventilation was admitted to our unit either from home or as a transfer from another acute hospital bed. This caused significant delays in treatment, occupancy of acute medical beds regionally and poor patient outcomes. We transformed the pathway developing an ambulatory model of care for ventilation initiation, and follow up with the aid of technology. This has improved patient outcomes and experience, health economics, and acute bed availability within our hospital and network.