COVER STORY: Elevating patient ventilation at Salford Royal

In the UK, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations are the second most common cause of emergency hospital admissions, accounting for one in eight such cases nationally. With a projected 40% increase in COPD prevalence and an anticipated annual cost to the NHS of £2.5 billion by 2030,1 the imperative for efficient, high-quality ventilation has never been greater. 

Against the backdrop of increasing demands on respiratory care, Salford Royal Hospital has taken bold steps to address the challenges posed by COPD and acute respiratory conditions. As one of four hospitals within the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Royal serves both the City of Salford and the Greater Manchester area, with a clinical footprint that includes 9,000 staff, over 700 beds, and a state-of-the-art trauma centre. The hospital’s Respiratory Support Unit (RSU) was originally established in response to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, combining Acute and Respiratory Medicine to deliver enhanced care outside of traditional critical care settings.

Salford Royal faces a higher-than-average COPD caseload, with respiratory disease affecting one in five people and ranking as the third leading cause of death in England.2 The RSU outreach team has sustained high workloads, not only caring for patients directly but also supporting other departments in ventilator setup and troubleshooting. The complex equipment had also made non-RSU staff reluctant to provide non-invasive ventilation (NIV) outside specialist environments.