Respiratory

There are 3 respiratory wards at the Royal Stoke and 1 Respiratory ward at County Hospital.

The Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) Critical Care & Regional Weaning Centre at the Royal Stoke University Hospital is a 29 bedded Nurse Led critical care unit specializing in Non Invasive Ventilation and Tracheostomy weaning. We are situated on ward 222 in the main building floor 1.

The unit takes referrals trust wide from the emergency portals, critical care unit, both locally and out of area, deteriorating ward based patients and patients direct from home. The unit provides an invaluable In-Reach service trust wide for patients requiring assessment and initiation of NIV, or supportive care and advice, enabling timely and correct intervention when the patient needs it.  The service provides an on-going domiciliary NIV service with Clinical Nurse Specialist expertise and a 24 hour helpline with technical support.

The unit is a tertiary centre for NIV and complex Tracheostomy weaning, taking referrals from other acute trusts and critical care facilities. We pride ourselves on supporting all aspects of NIV and Tracheostomy care to our patients and their carers to enable safe and independent living.

Ward 233 is an acute care facility comprising of 36 male/female beds which specialises in treating patients with Cystic Fibrosis and other types of acute and chronic respiratory disease. We are the regional centre for the North Midlands and take referrals from other hospital centres. We are situated in the main building on floor 3.

Ward 113 is an acute care facility comprising of 25 male/female beds which specialises in Pleural respiratory care and other acute and chronic respiratory illnesses. The ward is also the location for the North Midlands Pleural Interventional Unit which provides care and support to a vast number patients requiring treatment for pleural disease. We are situated in the Lyme Building on level LG1.

Ward 12 is an acute care facility comprising of 28 male/female beds which specialises in caring for patients with multiple general respiratory conditions.  We are situated at County Hospital on floor 2.

The COPD service comprises the Supported Early Discharge Service (SED) and a weekly clinical nurse specialist out-patient service. The SED service helps to plan the patient's discharge from hospital and may include home visits to review the patient's progress.

The department is reintroducing a service at the Royal Stoke University Hospital which was previously available and known as the 'Same Day Next Day Service'. 

The service aims to review patients at short notice in order to provide easy access for diagnosis and specialist advice on unwell patients in primary care with a respiratory problem, who otherwise require referral to the emergency department.  This provides an alternative to hospital admission. Following referral from general practitioner to a dedicated telephone line, appropriate patients will be seen in a dedicated clinic where imaging and pulmonary function is available.

There will be 6 clinic appointments available per week and the clinics will take place at Cobridge Community Clinic on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings.

The Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) service (led by Prof Spiteri and Dr Stone) provides a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary service. The service is open to patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, ILD associated with underlying connective tissue diseases, smoking-related ILD, pulmonary vasculitides and other diffuse infiltrative lung diseases. Care for ILD patients is provided in close collaboration with ILD-trained nurse specialists, chest radiologists and histopathologists.

Services on offer include:

  • Five designated one-stop clinics a week dedicated solely for patients with ILD
  • All clinic appointments arranged and co-ordinated by dedicated ILD admin personnel
  • Patients have pulmonary function tests, blood gas and 6 minute walk assessments (and associated re-titration to meet oxygen needs) on the same day they see their ILD consultant or nurse specialist.
  • Where required, imaging including HRCT scans scheduled within the above same-day itinerary
  • Patients with rheumatoid arthritis /connective tissue disease –related ILD are assessed in the monthly joint ILD-Rheumatology clinics
  • Outpatient-based treatments e.g. pulsed IV therapies
  • Monthly regional video-conferenced MDT meetings in addition to internal MDT meetings
  • In collaboration with our community-based services, we offer pulmonary rehabilitation and specialist palliative care support
  • Monthly patient support group meetings
  • Dedicated ILD phone-lines

We also have a clinical and laboratory-based research programme. This ensures that patients can be offered innovative therapies as they emerge and also allows them to participate in clinical trials to test promising drugs for ILD.

We provide two secure online-accessible tools: 

  • MyIPFcheck has been developed purposefully for our patients to enhance our interaction in real time
  • UHNM ILDconnect platform provides an interactive and collaborative environment for clinical colleagues outside of UHNM, with access to clinical summaries, test results, radiology reviews and MDT outcomes, facilitating an integrated approach to the management of ILD patients.

 All proceeds from website advertising helps to support our developments to improve ILD care. UHNM does not necessarily endorse advertised non-UHNM products and services.​

The lung cancer service at UHNM NHS Trust in 2021/22 treated 453 new primary lung cancers. The service is led by Dr Shahul Khan. All patients are discussed at the weekly lung cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT), which includes dedicated, Radiologist, Histopathologist, Oncologists, Cardiothoracic surgeons, Respiratory consultants, Clinical nurse specialists, and Palliative care. The first patient contact may often be with a clinical nurse specialist who performs an assessment by telephone and arranges investigations. There are specialist cancer clinics that are run twice a week for two week wait referrals from GPs or other doctors who suspect a lung cancer. The majority of patients will have their investigations already arranged by their first visit. The lung cancer service is part West Midlands Cancer Alliance and tertiary referral centre for Lung Cancer surgery. UHNM NHS Trust provides specialist surgical and oncology treatments including lung resection, systemic anti-cancer therapies, conventional radiotherapy and stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).

Non-Invasive Ventilation for inpatients with severe respiratory problems is provided in a specialist six-bedded unit on a respiratory ward. The team also provides ventilatory support for over 400 adult patients at home, including several who receive 24 hour support via mask or tracheostomy. There are two consultant-led and two nurse led clinics each week for patients with neuro muscular disorders and ventilation requirements.

Joyce Dunsadle - Daly is the Sleep Co-Ordinator she can be contacted on 01782 675756. For general queries contact the Helpline on 01782 675470 or 01782 715444 bleep 225. (Monday - Friday 9-5)  For out of hours NIV queries contact 01782 676222

Oxygen service The oxygen therapy service provides a wide range of ward based and out-patient advice for patients with stable, unstable, acute or chronic lung disease, including those who are both clinically stable and those with progressive problems and palliative care. The service provides a holistic patient-centred approach through expert nursing advice, education and support to both patients and carers. The service is led by Isabelle Babin-Cooper, clinical nurse specialist, supported by Dr Martin Allen, consultant. 

The respiratory interventional service comprises bronchoscopy, pleural procedures, nebulised therapy assessment and treatment.  The bronchoscopy service includes bronchial washing, bronchial alveolar lavage, transbronchial and transcarinal biopsy. There are 4 bronchoscopy out-patient lists per week. The procedure is performed at a dedicated suite with a 3 bedded recovery area.  There is a weekly list for pleural biopsy and aspiration in a dedicated suite with provision of ultrasound.  There is a nurse led service on nebulised therapy assessment and treatment.

Under the leadership of Professor Monica Spiteri, the department of respiratory medicine is actively engaged in research. The aims of the lung research programme are:

  • to create cutting edge research that addresses local community needs and builds on local clinical and academic expertise
  • to deliver research projects with a clear patient benefit in the area of respiratory disease diagnosis, intervention and/or general care
  • to maximise intellectual property capability and research revenue within University Hospitals and the wider economy

 

The current rese​​arch projects are:

These include a mix of laboratory-based, translational and clinical projects delivered by multi-disciplinary teams:

  • Electronic interactive systems for monitoring and supporting patients in real-time, including design and development of Apps e.g. MyIPFcheck; COPD-SPOC and websites e.g. UHNM ILDconnect
  • Development of biosensor platforms for point-of-care monitoring of biomarkers in saliva for prediction and treatment of COPD exacerbations
  • Regenerative approaches for treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
  • Clinical trials on new drugs and diagnostics in IPF, COPD, bronchiectasis and lung cancer

The respiratory physiology laboratory provides a wide range of investigations for airway and lung parenchymal disease. Pulmonary function tests are a group of breathing exercises that measure the function of the lungs, revealing problems in the way a patient breathes.

These investigations can determine the cause of shortness of breath and can help a doctor diagnose a range of respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, etc. The investigations can be used to monitor treatment response, to assess severity and progress of lung disease, to determine suitability for surgery and to predict recovery time from surgery.