3 minute read
Airway Hub
| Rucha Vora | Yumna Haroon-Mowahed | Emilie Hoogenboom |
#AirwayHub is an innovative initiative by University College London Hospital (UCLH) anaesthetic department providing multidisciplinary airway education. It has grown since its introduction in January 2017 to a now well-established, easily accessible pan London educational platform in Airway management.
What is it?
#AirwayHub provides well-executed monthly teaching and training in an inclusive multidisciplinary setting, with special focus on clinical skills, teamwork and communication. Expert faculty from different specialist centres, currently within London, contribute to the educational sessions. The programme is free, open to all and can be accessed virtually.
Meetings typically starts with a practical skills station. These offer a variety of workshops including high- fl ow nasal oxygen demonstration, emergency front of neck airway mannequin practice, paediatric airway management, tracheostomy and airway ultrasound.
How can you access it?
Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAM)
Figure 1. Examples of past presentations and workshops
We believe in medical education for anyone, anywhere, anytime. #AirwayHub meetings are announced through mailing lists, social media and via the London school of anaesthesia. We encourage airway experts and enthusiasts to join us physically or virtually in our meetings to share and discuss all airway matters. We also provide regular live updates for our worldwide followers via our Twitter handle (@AirwayHub).
How has the journey been so far?
It started in January 2017 at UCLH in response to the expanding head and neck surgical services and increasing perioperative airway emergencies. Since then, it has grown from strength to strength. As of January 2018, we were running a Pan London ‘Hub and Spokes’ format based at UCLH (the Hub) and closely linked to external sites (the spokes) who host the meeting generating further exchange of knowledge and best practices. Prior to the COVID pandemic the delivery of presentations happened physically in the “spokes” sites, including the Royal Marsden, GOSH and the Royal London. With the advent of virtual platforms we have moved the delivery predominantly at UCLH with guests presenting either at UCLH or virtually.
There is an average of 30-40 attendees each month comprising of anaesthetists, intensivists, operating department practitioners, paediatricians, critical care nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and surgeons. As the sessions are multidisciplinary informal sessions, it offers the perfect setting for learning and exchange of ideas and practices.
The participants report that both the skills station and lectures have improved their confidence in managing difficult airway scenarios and performing various airway techniques. #AirwayHub has been particularly popular amongst anaesthetists in training, and we encourage other specialities to join in the talks and discussions. The learning objectives are matched to RCoA syllabus and allows them to practice their practical skills. It also holds RCoA approved CPD points.
The Airway Fellows at UCLH are heavily involved in the design, organisation, and
delivery of the program, developing their skills in education, leadership and management.
What does the future hold?
We aim to extend this monthly educational platform to all centres across the country and even on an international level with the help of technology. In the coming months we will be discussing Exovent (Negative pressure ventilation), prehabilitation in head and neck surgery, discussing difficult airway cases and human factors in airway management from experts in the field. #AirwayHub is awarded 2 RCoA approved CPD points.
To find out more about #AirwayHub, or if you are interested in collaborating/ organising a joint meeting in your department, please follow our twitter handle or contact our team at UCLH (Dr Yumna Haroon-Mowahed: y.haroonmowahed@nhs.net or Dr Emilie Hoogenboom: e.hoogenboom@nhs.net).
Conclusion
#AirwayHub provides an open access, multidisciplinary educational platform to learn, share and discuss all airway matters. It encourages inter-professional communication and collaboration within the London region and beyond.
