**4. Where to administer NPPV?**

Any patient on NPPV is classified as receiving Critical Care Level 2 care, defined as ''Patients requiring more detailed observation or intervention including support for a single failed organ system''. This suggest NPPV should be administered in an intensive care unit (ICU) or high dependency unit (HDU) setting, but it has been widely recognised that NPPV can be successfully used outside the ICU and HDU with dedicated NPPV team able to provide 24/7 care. This is however only feasible in large units with many trained staff (Manuel, Russell, & Jones. 2010). NPPV is more frequently used outside the ICU, in HDU, respiratory wards and emergency departments (EDs) (Brochard, Mancebo, & Elliott 2002; Hill 2004). It has been suggested that each hospital should have a specific designed area with experienced staff, where patients requiring NPPV can be transferred with the minimum delay (British Thoracic Society Standards of Care Committee 2002).
