Brendan qualified from the University of Sheffield and trained initially in general medicine in Yorkshire, the North East and then Australia. He returned to specialize in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, appointed as a consultant at the recently renamed Manchester University Foundation Trust, at Wythenshawe Hospital in 2009.
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 Visiting Professor to Harvard Medical School in 2016 and as NHS England National Clinical Advisor for Tracheostomy in 2015. He remains European lead of the Global Tracheostomy Collaborative, supporting UK and European sites to improve care for patients and their families.
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).