EMERGENCY TRACHEOSTOMY IN GENERAL-PRACTICE

We set out to review the need for general practitioners (GPs) to be sk illed at forming an emergency alternative airway by assessing mortalit y figures for acute airways obstruction, We also solicited the views o f 100 GPs on the theory and practice of emergency tracheostomy and ass essed whether they considered they were equipped to carry out such a p rocedure in the community, The results suggest a significant number of deaths of otherwise young and healthy individuals could be avoided by training community practitioners in emergency alternative airway form ation, The results showed a marked lack of confidence in the practice of emergency airway formation and few GPs felt able to carry out the p rocedure, They indicated an overwhelming interest in receiving further education on the subject. We recommend that formal training programme s in the techniques of emergency airway formation should be available for community GPs.