First-rate care, First-rate people, First-rate value

Respiratory Service Leaflet - Information for patients and carers

  1. Home
  2. What we do
  3. Community and Outpatient Services
  4. Respiratory
  5. Respiratory Service Leaflet - Information for patients and carers

About the Community Respiratory Service

The Community Respiratory Service is a specialist team of nurses, a physiotherapist, rehabilitation assistants and an administrator, offering support for people with a confirmed respiratory condition.

The team works in partnership with patients, families and GPs to offer advice and education on respiratory conditions, either face to face or over the phone.

The service aims to:

  • Improve quality of life by helping people to self-manage their condition in order to prevent or lessen the effect of acute attacks and to avoid the need for admission to hospital
  • Provide advice regarding respiratory conditions
  • Review respiratory medication
  • Provide assessment and trial of nebulisers
  • Improve exercise tolerance and general health
  • Manage breathlessness symptoms.

Types of support

Pulmonary rehabilitation

This service provides a specialised assessment and an exercise and education programme to patients who have a long term respiratory condition.

Patients are invited to an initial assessment where needs and goals are established and then attend an exercise programme twice a week at the therapies gym, either at YMCA Redhill or Oxted Therapies Unit.

Due to recent infection control measures secondary to the Covid-19 pandemic, pulmonary rehabilitation is now running remotely via NHS Attend Anywhere, telephone and virtual appointments and Zoom education sessions.

Community chest physiotherapy

This service provides specialised assessment, chest clearance exercises and techniques and advice to patients who have a long term respiratory condition.

These are used to help manage breathlessness and aid with clearing secretions from the chest.

Patients are invited to an initial assessment and given exercises and advice.

Nurse clinic appointments and home visits

Clinics are held at Caterham Dene Hospital or in GP practices. Home visits may be offered for housebound patients or those who are unwell.

The team offer respiratory assessments, along with treatment planning, including medication management and review of inhaled therapy.

Assessments are undertaken for short and long term loan of nebulisers.

Oxygen service – new and existing patients

This is a new service that has been developed to meet the needs of patients on supplementary oxygen due to a confirmed respiratory diagnosis.

The team provide oxygen assessments in patient homes and in clinics.

Assessments can be undertaken for oxygen prescription and ambulatory walk tests.

What to expect

At the first appointment, the Community Respiratory Team will discuss current respiratory symptoms, check any historic records of respiratory health and assess the current condition. Inhaler technique will be assessed and routine observations taken.

Pulmonary rehabilitation assessments will include a walk test and patients will need their inhaler and a medication list.

Who can refer?

  • GPs
  • Practice nurses
  • Hospital discharge team
  • Social care team
  • Other clinical services and health care professionals.
  • Patients referred to the service will be contacted by the Community Respiratory Team to arrange an appointment either at home or at a clinic.

Which patients are eligible for this service?

  • Patients over the age of 18
  • Have a confirmed diagnosis – COPD, asthma, pulmonary hypertension or fibrosis, bronchiectasis
  • Are registered with a GP in east Surrey.

Contact details and opening hours

8.30am – 4.30pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays
Tel: 01737 775476
Voicemail messages can also be left including name, date of birth, contact details and a short message for the team to call back.
It is important that any appointments are cancelled with as much notice as possible if you are unable to attend.

Useful links

British lung Foundation - www.blf.org.uk
Asthma UK - www.asthma.org.uk

 

First Community provides front-line NHS community healthcare services in east Surrey and parts of West Sussex.

We provide first-rate care, through our first-rate people, offering first-rate value. For more information visit: www.firstcommunityhealthcare.co.uk

If you would like this information in another format, for example large print or easy read, or if you need help communicating with us:

First Community (Head Office)

Call: 01737 775450 Email: fchc.enquiries@nhs.net / fchc.respiratory@nhs.net Text: 07814 639034

Address: First Community Health and Care, Orchard House, Unit 8a, Orchard Business Centre, Bonehurst Road, Redhill RH1 5EL

 

To print this page, please select accessibility tools and the print this page icon. 

For office use only: Version 1 Publication date: August 2020