MB ChB FRCP FRCA DICM EDIC PGCertMedEd AHEA FFICM MAcadMedEd PhD

Brendan qualified from the University of Sheffield and trained initially in general medicine in Yorkshire, the North East and then Australia. He returned to specialise in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, appointed as a consultant at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, at Wythenshawe Hospital in 2009. He was appointed Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC) Honorary Professor in 2022.

Brendan’s research interests in patient safety and airway management led to the initiation of the UK National Tracheostomy Safety Project, collaborating widely in developing educational resources to guide the multidisciplinary response to airway emergencies. Realising that the real work was in prevention of airway emergencies, Brendan helped to develop the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative in 2012, bringing together international expertise from Harvard to Melbourne with the goal of improving tracheostomy care ‘everywhere’ through quality improvement initiatives. Brendan has worked on and led a number of domestic and international quality improvement projects and research studies, securing significant grant funding. His contributions in his field were recognised by appointment as:

• Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC) Honorary Professor 2022
• Association of Anaesthetists Featherstone Professor 2021-3
• Difficult Airway Society Professor of Anaesthesia & Airway Management 2021
• Royal College of Anaesthetists Macintosh Professor 2021
• Visiting Professor to Harvard Medical School 2016
• NHS England National Clinical Advisor for Tracheostomy in 2015

Brendan continues in his NHS England role and remains European lead of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative, supporting UK and European sites to improve care for patients and their families.

Brendan and his team have won a number of awards for their work, including:

• Association of Anaesthetists Innovation Award 2023 (Bubble PAPR)
• British Medical Journal Award for Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year 2020
• Intensive Care Society Improvement Project Award 2020
• National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia Research Award 2019 

Outside of medicine, Brendan is entertained by a young(ish) family, plays guitar in the family rock band, "Death Metal Children of Rock," attempts to support Liverpool FC whilst living near Old Trafford, and tries to ride his road bike when it isn’t raining (too hard).

The University of Manchester Academic Critical Care Research Group (MACC) undertakes a number of research themes aimed at improving the short and long-term outcomes of critically ill patients. Our current research themes are focused on (a) the airway and lungs of critically ill patients and (b) diagnosis and optimal management of life-threatening infections and sepsis. The team has experience in the design and conduct of clinical trials in critically ill patients including experimental medicine studies (including pharmacokinetic studies), large randomised controlled trials and observational, cohort studies.

https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/macc/

Our purpose is to develop a collaborative academic centre of excellence with an international reputation, delivering significant benefits to critically ill patients in Manchester and beyond.

Our priority areas are:

• rapid diagnosis and optimal precision management of infection;
• optimal management of acute and chronic respiratory failure;
• optimal management of tracheostomy and the airway;
• preparation, perioperative management and rehabilitation of high-risk surgical patients who require critical care.

Consultant in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, Manchester University NHS FT

Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre (MAHSC) Honorary Professor 2022

Association of Anaesthetists Featherstone Professor 2021-3

Difficult Airway Society Professor of Anaesthesia & Airway Management 2021

Royal College of Anaesthetists Macintosh Professor 2021

Trevor Magill Visiting Professor, Harvard Medical School & Boston Children's Hospital 2016

NHS England National Clinical Advisor for Tracheostomy since 2015

Chair & Director, National Tracheosotmy Safety Project

European Lead, Global Tracheostomy Collaborative

Committee member, Anaesthesia Research Society

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists

Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine

Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists

Associate of the Higher Education Academy

Member of the Academy of Medical Educators 

Member of the Association of North Western Intensive Care Units

Member of the Difficulty Airway Society

Research grants totalling £2,601,229 since May 2014 (lead or co-applicant)

£1,319,069 as lead applicant (Details below)

Innovate UK Fast Start Innovation Award £46,466 November 2022
Collaboration with NTSP Ltd and Rescape Healthcare Ltd to develop and test a Virtual-Reality tracheosotmy safety course. Lead applicant.

MRC Confidence-in-Concept Scheme £30,00 December 2022
Guidance for Tracheostomy (GIFT) development of prototype medical device. Co-applicant. Collaboration with UoM School of Engineering (MACE) to further develop the concept of electromagnetic guidance to improve the safety of high-risk procedures in the ICU in the clinical setting. 

CPI Health Technology Regulatory and Innovation Project  £12,500, May 2022
Co-applicant with Designing Science Ltd. Regulatory support funding for new device development.

Royal College of Anaesthetists Stanley Rowbotham Educational Award £2,480, December 2021.
Lead applicant. Project to develop the 'trachy team' ward round 'game' as an interactive educational tool. Supporting ICU Education Fellowship.

Health Innovation Manchester Special Projects Fund £27,800, December 2020
Lead applicant. Bubble-PAPR. Clinical evaluation of novel Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for use by critical care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maurice Freeman/BAREMA AAGBI/NIAA Research Award (WKRO-2020-0032) £32,842
Lead applicant. Cough counting and voice quality pilot evaluation for patients undergoing Above Cuff Vocalisation therapy. Innovative collaboration with the University of Manchester Respiratory Cough Team, Audiology Team and Speech & Language Therapists at Manchester University Hospital. 

Oxford Road Corridor Special Projects Fund £29,600, September 2020
Co-applicant. Bubble-PAPR. Design, development and prototype manufacture of a novel Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Powered Air-Purifying Respirator hood for use by frontline healthcare staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MRC Confidence-in-Concept Scheme £45,480 August 2020
Guidance for Tracheostomy (GIFT) Clinical feasibility of a novel electromagnetic system to improve patient outcomes. Co-applicant. Collaboration with UoM School of Engineering (MACE) to further develop the concept of electromagnetic guidance to improve the safety of high-risk procedures in the ICU in the clinical setting. Prelude to an NIHR i4i product development award application. 

EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account IAA-302. £68,399 July 2020.
Low-Cost Hood Integrated Purified Air Powered Respirator (HI-PAPR) for the COVID-19 PPE Crisis. Co-applicant. Collaboration with MFT, UoM, MIMIT, the Oxford Road Corridor and Designing Science Ltd to design and develop low cost PAPRs for healthcare workers.

NIHR i4i Product Development Award £641,003 (NIHR200023) December 2018. Lead applicant. Safe and Effective Above Cuff Tracheostomy Vocalisation in Tracheostomised Patients: A device development study. (SEA CtV) 

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account Proof of Concept Scheme
£16,643 (IAA 232) July 2018. Co-applicant. A novel tracheostomy location system. PoC project to investigate the utility of lasers to guide tracheostomy insertion with UoM engineers. 

Manchester Metropolitan University Research & Knowledge Exchange Award
£24,620 Feb 2018.‘Enhanced prototype for tracheostomy speaking aid’- funding awarded to develop a prototype device with engineers at MMU.

Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre ‘Boost’ Award
£16,000 June 2016. Co-applicant. Awarded by MAHSC Inflammation and Repair Domain Operational Group to prepare an application for NIHR Invention for Improvement Product Development Award (Above Cuff Vocalisation for laryngeal rehabilitation following tracheostomy and critical illness). i4i application made in June 2018.

Health Foundation Evidence into Practice Award £47,500 Dec 2016 & £10,000 May 2017.
“Better Tracheostomy Care.” Lead applicant in partnership for this NIHR portfolio adopted study with the UK National Tracheostomy Safety Project (NTSP). Design, development and testing of multimedia resources to bring research findings to frontline healthcare staff.

Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare (SBRI Healthcare) £979,537 Nov 2016.
Co-applicant with Microbiosensor Ltd for NHS England / Academic Health Science Networks award. Phase 2 clinical evaluation of a novel biosensor to rapidly test for urine pathogens and determine antibiotic sensitivities.

Smiths Medical Award – Commercially funded clinical pilot study £5,622 Feb 2016
“Above Cuff Vocalisation with the Blue Line Ultra Suctionaid tube.” This NIHR portfolio adopted pilot study is an investigator-led, industry funded evaluation of novel methods of communication for tracheostomy patients.

Health Foundation Spreading Improvement Award £399,960 Nov 2015.
“Implementing the GTC.” Multisite UK quality improvement initiative examining tracheostomy care in partnership with the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (GTC) and the RCoA.

Small Business Research Initiative for Healthcare (SBRI Healthcare) £100,000 Nov 2015.
Co-applicant with Microbiosensor Ltd for NHS England / Academic Health Science Networks award. Phase 1 evaluation of a biosensor to assess bioburden and antimicrobial sensitivity at the point of care. Funding to develop working prototypes for early stage clinical testing.

Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre ‘Step Up’ Award £14,400 June 2015.
Awarded by MAHSC Inflammation and Repair Domain Operational Group to support my academic development and to allow dedicated time to apply for competitive funding.           

Health Foundation Shine Award £74,996 May 2014.
Four site local evaluation of tracheostomy quality improvement initiatives. Shortlisted from over 900 entries and won one of 20 national awards. £75k awarded to implement the GTC project into 4 NHS hospitals and measure outcomes.

NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes Finalist 2012 – NTSP

NW Regional Innovation Competition 2012 £5k sharing award (for the NTSP)

National Patient Safety Awards (Critical Care) 2011 Runner up (NTSP)

Innovate NoW 2010 – echocardiography application £10k awarded, with £20k matched funding awarded from UHSM Special Endowment Fund

ANWICU Registrar’s Prize 2008 First prize presenting my research on airway critical incidents

GAT Abbott History Prize 2007   £1,000 first prize awarded in this national competition.

Improving the short and long-term outcomes of critically ill patients. Current research themes focused on (a) the airway and lungs of critically ill patients and (b) diagnosis and optimal management of life-threatening infections and sepsis. Design and conduct of clinical trials in critically ill patients including experimental medicine studies, large randomised controlled trials and observational, cohort studies and quality improvement / implemetation science.

Main focus is on research to improve the quality and safety of critically ill patients requiring a tracheostomy, which overlaps with laryngeal rehabilitation following critical illness and understanding why critically ill patients fail to be liberated from mechanical ventilation.