Respiratory Specialist Nurses
Community Respiratory Specialist Nurses support the management and provide assessments of patients with established respiratory diagnoses through clinics reviews and home visits.
GPs and Practice nurses can send referrals via cpn-tr.MidRespiratoryTeam@nhs.net
Roles of the Specialist Respiratory Nurses:
1) Long Term Oxygen Therapy Assessment using an Arterial Blood Gas.
Criteria: The patient:
- Must have a respiratory diagnosis
- Must have had other treatment options optimised
- Must be 8 weeks clear of an exacerbation
- Sp02 must be persistently below 92%
- FEV1 <30%
Exclusions:
- Current smokers
- Risky behaviour with drugs and alcohol
Patients can be assessed for Ambulatory oxygen. The assessment involves a 6 minute walk to test for improvement in exercise tolerance.
2) Patients with Frequent Exacerbations and Admissions
The respiratory specialist nurses can review patients to support optimising treatments and creating admission avoidance strategies.
3) Assessing the need for nebulisers
There is poor evidence for the efficacy of nebulisers. The role of the specialist nurse is as a gate keeper to avoid inappropriate use.
All NIV and CPAP support queries should be via the respiratory clinic 01872 252640
4) Palliative Symptoms Support
The respiratory specialist nurses can support palliative respiratory patients through trials of opioids and the use of fan therapy and palliative oxygen. Consider palliative oxygen if sp02 <92%
5) Pulmonary rehabilation
To refer please see:
https://rms.cornwall.nhs.uk/primary_care_clinical_referral_criteria/primary_care_clinical_referral_criteria/respiratory/pulmonary_rehabilitation
Updated November 2021
Review Date: November 2022
Reviewing GP: Dr Madeleine Attridge