Cough Assist training that gets your team CQC-ready
- CQC-aligned, mapped to the Care Certificate framework
- Completed in the hub in over 60 languages
- A certificate for every staff member, for your CQC evidence
- A wrong answer triggers a follow-up lesson, so gaps are closed
From £25.99 per staff member, one-off. No subscription needed.
Specialists in the technology behind it all
The same AI and technology behind the world's best products powers CareStream, so your team's cough assist training stays accurate, always up to date with the latest guidance, and is delivered in over 60 languages.
Why Cough Assist Matters
A strong cough clears mucus and germs from the lungs. People with conditions like motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy or spinal cord injury have weak respiratory muscles, so their cough cannot generate enough force to move secretions out. When secretions stay in the lungs they cause infections, collapsed lung areas and breathing failure. The cough assist machine creates an artificial cough by pushing air in and then rapidly pulling it out, moving secretions up where they can be removed.
What is the main purpose of using a cough assist device?
The correct answer is “To mechanically simulate a strong cough and move secretions out of the lungs when the person's own cough is weak”. In the full module, a wrong answer triggers a short follow-up lesson and a fresh question, so the gap is always closed before completion.
That is how the training works. Give your whole team the full Cough Assist module.
What This Training Covers
A clear, practical grounding in cough assist.
This annual refresher covers the safe use of mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (cough assist) devices to help people with weak coughs clear secretions from their airways. You will review why this therapy matters, how the device works, the prescribed settings you must follow, how to recognise when someone needs help, and when to stop and get clinical support. This knowledge component must be combined with your person-specific practical competency assessment.
Learning Outcomes
By the end, your staff will be able to:
What Your Team Will Learn
A closer look at the cough assist module.
The module is built in short, practical sections. Each one teaches a part of the topic, then applies it to a real care scenario and checks understanding before moving on.
Why Cough Assist Matters
A strong cough clears mucus and germs from the lungs. People with conditions like motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy or spinal cord injury have weak respiratory muscles, so their cough cannot generate enough force to move secretions out. When secretions stay in the lungs they cause infections, collapsed lung areas and breathing failure. The cough assist machine creates an artificial cough by pushing air in and then rapidly pulling it out, moving secretions up where they can be removed.
How the Device Works and Prescribed Settings
The cough assist delivers a positive pressure breath to inflate the lungs, then rapidly switches to negative pressure to pull air out at speed, mimicking a forceful cough. Every person has settings prescribed by their physiotherapist or respiratory clinician: inspiratory pressure (the breath in), expiratory pressure (the breath out), timing of each phase, and number of cycles. These settings are specific to that individual's lung capacity and condition. You must never change these settings. Your role is to use the device exactly as prescribed and documented in their care plan.
Recognising When Someone Needs Cough Assist
You need to recognise the signs that secretions are building and the person needs airway clearance. Listen for rattly or noisy breathing, watch for increased work of breathing such as using accessory muscles or nasal flaring, check if oxygen saturations are dropping below their normal range, and notice if they look anxious or uncomfortable. Some people have a regular schedule in their care plan, while others need it in response to these signs. Always check the individual care plan for when and how often to use cough assist for that person.
Using Cough Assist as Part of the Respiratory Routine
Cough assist is rarely used alone. It works best as part of a sequence: position the person upright or as directed in their plan, give nebulised saline if prescribed to loosen secretions, use manual techniques like breath stacking if you are trained and it is in the plan, then deliver the cough assist cycles, and finally suction to remove the secretions that have been moved up. For ventilated individuals, you disconnect from the ventilator, deliver the cough assist, suction, then reconnect. You must coordinate each step with the person, giving them time to recover between cycles.
When to Stop and Escalate
You must know your limits and when to stop the therapy and get help. Stop immediately if the person becomes very distressed or panicked, if their oxygen saturations drop significantly and do not recover, if they develop a very fast or irregular heart rate, if you see signs of stomach distension or vomiting, or if secretions are blood-stained or you cannot clear them despite repeated attempts. In these situations, position them safely, give oxygen if prescribed and you are trained, and contact the clinical team or call 999 depending on severity. Never continue if you are unsure or the person is deteriorating.
Equipment Care and Infection Prevention
In a home setting, you are responsible for keeping the cough assist equipment clean and safe. After each use, disconnect the circuit and clean the mask or mouthpiece with warm soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly, or follow the manufacturer instructions if different. Replace filters as per the schedule in the care plan. Check the device is charged and working before each shift. Store equipment in a clean, dry place away from the person's sleeping area if possible. Single-use circuits must never be reused. If equipment is faulty, do not use it; use the backup plan in the care plan and report the fault immediately.
Key Points Covered
The things your team must remember.
- Cough assist creates an artificial cough to clear secretions when the person's own cough is too weak, preventing chest infections and breathing failure
- Every person has settings prescribed by a physiotherapist or respiratory clinician. You must never change these settings; if the person seems uncomfortable, contact the clinical team
- Recognise signs that secretions are building: rattly breathing, increased work of breathing, dropping oxygen saturations, and use cough assist as per the care plan
- Cough assist is part of a sequence: positioning, nebuliser if prescribed, cough assist cycles, then suctioning. Follow the exact order in the person's care plan
- Stop immediately and escalate if saturations drop and do not recover, the person is very distressed, you see blood in secretions, or you cannot clear the airway
- Clean masks and circuits after every use, check the device is charged, replace filters on schedule, and never use faulty equipment
Who and how often
Cough Assist is refreshed every year, for the staff in your care setting whose roles require it. It includes a practical sign-off.
CQC and standards
Supports the training evidence CQC expects to see for a well-run, safe care setting.
How CareStream Delivers It
Not a slideshow once a year. Training that sticks.
CareStream delivers cough assist training in the hub your team already uses, grounded in best practice and your own policies, so it fits your care setting and not a generic template.
Teach, then assess
Short teaching sections and a real care scenario, then an assessment that checks understanding.
In any language
Staff complete it in over 60 languages, while your records stay in English.
Learn and retry
A wrong answer triggers a short follow-up lesson and a fresh question, so the gap is closed.
Renewals handled
Automatic reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days, with a live compliance dashboard.
How your team gets trained
From your dashboard to your team, in the CareStream hub.
Training is delivered in the hub each staff member logs into. You allocate the modules, they complete them in their own language, and you get the completion records and certificates for your CQC evidence, with any gaps closed by automatic follow up training.
- 01
Buy and allocate
Assign Cough Assist to each staff member in seconds. No course builder and no setup for each person.
- 02
They complete it in the hub
Staff work through the module on any device, in over 60 languages, teaching then checking understanding. A wrong answer sends a short follow up lesson.
- 03
You track it
See live completion status and a certificate for every person, ready as evidence for CQC.
Safeguarding Adults
Cough Assist
Moving & Handling of People
Infection Prevention & Control
In every language
Any step, in their language, in one tap.
Care teams are diverse and training should not leave anyone behind. On any lesson or question, a staff member taps the language button and the whole step flips into the language they think in. They understand it properly, and your records stay in English.
- One tap flips any lesson or question into their language, instantly.
- Over 60 languages, with no setup and no separate versions to manage.
- Completions and certificates stay in English for your CQC evidence.
Try the language button in the preview, or see every language
Cough Assist
Learning: what to read first
About 35 minThis annual refresher covers the safe use of mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (cough assist) devices to help people with weak coughs clear secretions from their airways. You will review why this therapy matters, how the device works, the prescribed settings you must follow, how to recognise when someone needs help, and when to stop and get clinical support. This knowledge component must be combined with your person-specific practical competency assessment.
Built for real learning, not box ticking
Every CareStream course goes further than a lesson and a quiz. These features come as standard on every course, giving your staff a richer way to learn and giving you the evidence to prove it.
References and further reading
Every course is built on recognised UK guidance and cites its sources, from NICE and Skills for Care to the NHS and the legislation itself.
Key terms explained
A plain English glossary of the technical terms in each course. A simple way to support every learner, including staff with English as a second language.
Measured learning gain
A quick knowledge check before the lesson is compared with the final assessment, so every certificate comes with evidence of how much the course actually taught.
Reflective practice
After passing, staff record what they will do differently in their day to day work. Their reflection is saved to their training record and shown with their certificate.
A course summary to keep
A printable one page takeaway of the outcomes, key points and key terms. Perfect for staff files, supervision conversations and the staff room wall.
Observed competency checklist
A printable checklist for managers to confirm skills in practice, with a sign off section. It completes the picture beyond the knowledge assessment.
Wrong answers become lessons, not failures
Most e learning marks an answer wrong and moves on. CareStream does not. Every wrong answer triggers an automatic follow up loop that teaches the point again and rechecks it, so no knowledge gap is left behind.
Instant lesson and feedback
A wrong answer immediately opens a short lesson explaining the point, so the gap is closed there and then.
Targeted follow up question
A fresh question on the same point checks the lesson has landed. The loop repeats until it has.
Progress only when understood
Staff move on to the next module and their certificate once they genuinely know the answer, not just after one lucky guess.
Why choose CareStream?
Training built for the care sector, delivered the way busy teams actually learn.
Time to complete: ~35 min
FAQs
Frequently asked questions.
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Give your team cough assist training that actually sticks.
See how CareStream delivers your mandatory training in the hub, in any language.