Services Provided

People whose symptoms suggest they could have Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) may undergo a simple oxygen sleep study. This involves wearing an oxygen monitor on a finger during sleep and can often be done at home. An easy-to-use monitor is collected from the sleep centre, worn overnight, this is generally issued to be worn on two consecutive nights and then returned the next day for a recording of your night's sleep to be downloaded.

If the results suggest OSA, you will receive an appointment to be assessed by a sleep specialist and discuss whether treatment is needed.

Sometimes the overnight oximetry sleep study does not provide an answer and a more sophisticated sleep study is required.

Indications:

Suspected:

• Sleep disordered breathing and severity
• Obesity hypoventilation
• Nocturnal hypoventilation in restrictive lung disease
• Nocturnal oxygen desaturations in COPD and asthma
• Treatment effectiveness

Pre-Test Instructions:

Thoroughly wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and remove any nail polish and/or acrylic nails,

Occasionally an overnight oximetry sleep study is not sufficient to detect and diagnose different types of breathing difficulties overnight that may cause symptoms. A respiratory polygraphy or Limited Sleep Study is a test that can be performed in your own home. It involves attending the sleep centre for a ‘fitting’ session and then the equipment is worn overnight at home and returned the next day. It involves a band around the chest and abdomen to measure breathing, a small flow sensor in the nostrils and an oxygen monitor on the finger.

You will receive an appointment to be assessed by a sleep specialist and discuss you results and if treatment is required.

Indications:

      Suspected:

• Sleep disordered breathing and severity
• Obesity hypoventilation
• Nocturnal hypoventilation in restrictive lung disease
• Nocturnal oxygen desaturations in COPD and asthma
• Treatment effectiveness

Pre-Test Instructions:

Thoroughly wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and remove any nail polish and/or acrylic nails,

Ensure you are able to return the device the following day.

Actigraphy involves wearing a movement monitor, resembling a wristwatch, on your arm or leg for 3 weeks, 24hrs a day. This is used to assess sleep regularity. It involves attending the sleep centre for a ‘fitting’ session or actigraphy equipment is posted to a person's home with straightforward instructions and then returned to the sleep centre for downloading of data. This is used in conjunction with a 3 week sleep diary.

You will receive an appointment to come to clinic to be assessed by a sleep specialist and discuss you results and if treatment is required.

Indications:

Suspected:

• Circadian rhythm disorders
• Narcolepsy

An In-Lab PSG uses sophisticated monitoring equipment to record your brain waves (electroencephalography or EEG) and other vital signs overnight to tell us how well you sleep.

This will include:

• Electrodes that attach to your head to measure your brainwaves.
• Electrodes that attach to your face to measure your eye movements and muscle tone.
• A microphone on your throat to record snore.
• Sensors on your chest to measure the electrical activity of your heart.
• Stretchy bands around your chest and abdomen to measure the effort of your breathing muscles.
• A sensor on your finger to measure your oxygen levels and pulse rate.
• A pressure sensor under your nose to measure the flow of air as you breathe.
• Electrodes on your legs to measure kicking and restlessness.
• During the night we will also switch on a video camera & Microphone to record you while you are asleep.

It can detect whether your sleep is being disrupted by OSA, limb movements or other body movements. It may simply confirm that you sleep well overnight.

After the tests your results will be analysed and then reviewed by a consultant. You will receive a further appointment to discuss the test results and treatment options.

Indications:

Suspected:

• Narcolepsy
• REM and NREM parasomnias

Pre-Test Instructions:

You will receive an appointment letter with a specified date and time which you should arrive at the sleep department.

Please follow any instructions given with regards to medication, if no instructions are given please take all medication as normal.

You should bring all required belongings with you, ie comfortable clothing, (please read the PSG leaflet for specific details).

Nap tests with further EEG monitoring may be performed the following day (multiple sleep latency tests - MSLT). These assess sleepiness and look for easy lapsing into dream sleep which is a feature of narcolepsy.

Indications:

Suspected:

• Narcolepsy
• Idiopathic hypersomnolence

Pre-Test Instructions:

Please follow any instructions given with regards to medication, if no instructions are given please take all medication as normal.

Please bring com clothing to wear in the day. If you would like to bring a book to read or electronic device to use in-between naps please do.

Occasionally, it may prove difficult to obtain accurate sleep study results in a home setting. Therefore, in order to collect accurate results to be used for a diagnosis, performing a limited sleep study in a designated in-patient facility may be warranted. The equipment you use will be very similar to which you utilise at home; however, it will be fitted and adjusted by a sleep technician. Throughout the night, the signals from the device will be monitored for accuracy, and where necessary, adjusted to improve data accuracy.

Indications:

Suspected:

• Sleep disordered breathing and severity
• Obesity hypoventilation
• Nocturnal hypoventilation in restrictive lung disease
• Nocturnal oxygen desaturations in COPD and asthma
• Treatment effectiveness

Pre-Test Instructions:

You will receive an appointment letter with a specified date and time which you should arrive at the sleep department,

You should bring all required belongings with you, ie comfortable clothing

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment modality used for moderate and severe sleep disordered breathing (SDB), and occasionally where warranted, in mild SDB. Prior to using the device, it is important you are instructed on its safe use in order to gain the maximal clinical and symptomatic benefit. A trained experienced member of staff will provide you with all the necessary information needed for you to be fully compliant with CPAP. To ensure your SDB is effectively treated and that you a comfortable and compliant with treatment, you will be provided with review appointments. This is usually undertaken at 2 week, 3month and annual intervals. However, the timeframes may be flexible. This appointment may be over the phone or face to face and will entail a detailed analysis of the machine data and your experience using CPAP. From this, if changes to treatment are warranted, they will be made during the appointment. After which, you will be informed of when your next review appointment will be. Should you require additional help/support between review periods, you should call/email the patient helpline.

Indications:

• Annual review appointments are required for group 2 patients (HGV and professional drivers)
• Biannual review appointments are required for group 1 patients

Pre-Review Instructions:

You will receive an appointment letter with a specified data and time,     

The letter will state if the appointment will be conducted via a telephone or face to face, with the former the most likely method,

You may be asked to collect data from your device, such as, your 7 and 30 day therapy hours and 30 day AHI, information about this is on the website.

You should allocate 20 to 30 minutes for your appointment to ensure a comprehensive review can be undertaken,

If you appointment is face to face, please bring your CPAP device and mask with you.

A sleep diary is a detailed log of your sleep routine, hygiene and quality. You will document information, such as, sleep onset and wake times, nocturnal awakenings and daytime activity & naps. Similar to the sleep diary, the sleep questionnaire provides a more detailed insight into your sleep and overall health. This includes information such as, symptoms, prescribed medications and food and drink. It is essential you provide as much detail as possible to allow for the most accurate and appropriate diagnostic modality choice, diagnosis and treatment.

Indications:

• Sleep disordered breathing
• Circadian rhythm disorders