Lung Health (Respiratory Services)

Lung health

Our dedicated team of specialists provide a one stop shop in a friendly environment with some limited car parking outside of our facilities. The state of the art department has:

• a comfortable, welcoming reception area
• consulting and examination rooms
• a lung function laboratory with the best equipment
• digital chest x-ray facilities
• seminar room for educational activities

We know that if you have breathing problems you might find it difficult to walk from one department to another for tests. We have all of the facilities here in one place, where we provide:

• outpatient clinics
• oxygen assessment
• specialist clinics for asthma, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung fibrosis
• endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) – a procedure which uses ultrasound scanning to get an accurate picture of how much lung cancer has progressed
• support for patients in the community who use non-invasive ventilation for conditions including, motor neurone disease, COPD, chest wall deformities and lung conditions related to obesity

What do I do when I arrive for my appointment?

When you arrive for your appointment you should go to the reception desk to let them know you have arrived and they will direct you to the right area.

You will also have the opportunity to use one of our self check in kiosks as a convenient alternative to waiting for one of our reception team. You can do this by entering your details in to the kiosk and checking in.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease service (COPD)

Our team of specialist nurses, physiotherapists, specialist healthcare assistants and support staff provide a dedicated COPD service at the University Hospital of North Tees.

We will give you expert advice, education and support if you have been diagnosed with COPD or respiratory disease.

The team:

• supports you in hospital and get you home when you are well enough, with support when you are at home
• hold regular clinics to assess patients who need oxygen, with support from the lung health nurses
• provide follow up when you’re at home if you need oxygen therapy
• give expert advice and support to healthcare professionals in hospital and in the community
• runs pulmonary rehabilitation programmes in the community at Stockton, Peterlee, Seaham, and Hartlepool and also in the physiotherapy gym at the University Hospital of North Tees

Macmillan lung cancer service

Supporting you at home and in hospital

Our Macmillan lung cancer nurses will support you while you are in hospital and at home. The will give you support, advice, help you manage your symptoms and provide education to you and your family.

We provide a lung cancer clinic in the lung health department. You will be invited to this clinic when we have your results. Our nurses will be at this clinic to meet you and talk to you about any new problems or concerns. You will be offered a home visit if necessary or referred to other specialists.

Asthma and tuberculosis service

Our team of specialist community nurses work within lung health and the community to provide a service for patients in Stockton and the surrounding area with asthma and tuberculosis.

The team step in early when patients with asthma have an attack which is serious enough to take them into hospital. We provide support in hospital then see you at home to talk to you about how to manage your condition, provide you with support to help improve your quality of life and ensure all people with asthma receive a high standard of care and treatment.

Every person who is diagnosed with tuberculosis will have a dedicated nurse to support them whether they are in hospital or in the community. We will work with you throughout your treatment.

Referrals

Your GP or health professionals will refer you to the appropriate service.

We Make Every Contact Count

We understand that lots of different factors have an impact on our health and wellbeing – the physical environment in which we live, our homes, our jobs, our finances, our social networks, genetics, education and our behaviour (smoking, activity levels, our diet). It is important that we understand if there is anything else that we can do so support you to improve your health and wellbeing.

We encourage our staff to ‘make every contact count’ with you and that might mean that they ask you about your lifestyle – how much you move each day, if you smoke or even how well you are sleeping. We would encourage you to embrace those conversations and if you would like some further support to explore how you could start to make changes that could improve your lifestyle we will be here to help.

We have lots of useful information that our teams have pulled together in our Live Well section, that we hope you will find informative and useful.

Contact

Useful links