Respiratory consultants
Respiratory nurses
Community respiratory nurses
The Specialist Respiratory Team is employed by Eastern and Coastal Kent Community Health Trust but works very closely with the respiratory consultants in East Kent Hospitals and also with all members of Primary Care.
The team of over 40 consists of specialist nurses and physiotherapists supported by health care assistants and secretarial staff. There are five bases at Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital, Ashford Community Offices, Hythe Community Clinic, Broadstairs Health Centre and Deal Community Clinic. There is one specialist nurse at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford.
The community team delivers support and advice to all people affected by any lung disease and also act as a resource to all health professionals in primary and secondary care, and deliver educational support as needed. An early Discharge/Hospital at Home service is given for all patients with COPD across the area.
Throughout the whole area there is an emphasis on patient participation and involvement in their treatment and care at home rather than in hospital and as many patients as possible are issued with personalised management plans.
Referrals can be accepted from any member of the multidisciplinary team and from patients themselves for advice on management, oxygen or nebuliser assessment, education, end of life issues, TB monitoring and contact tracing, advice and support with non invasive ventilation at home.
Patients are seen either in nurse led clinics at a District General Hospital or Community Hospital and those who are not able to access these services are visited at home. The emphasis is on delivering care as close to the patient as possible. The only thing that cannot be done in the home is a chest X-ray.
The physiotherapists and their assistants run a comprehensive eight week pulmonary rehabilitation programme each at different venues throughout the area in order for the patients to access them easily.
Following on from this, there are two Breathe Easy Groups, one in Thanet and one in the Canterbury area, with one to be initiated soon in the Ashford area. These are primarily patient support groups under the auspices of the British Lung Foundation but they also take part in raising the profile of lung disease and funds to go towards research.
For further information please contact:
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Specialist Respiratory Nurses
- Whistable and Tankerton Hospital
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Phone: 01227 594640
Hospital respiratory nurse
In addition to the team above, William Harvey Hospital, Ashford has a respiratory nurse who works in the acute setting providing respiratory support and advice to all the Respiratory inpatients, including those on surgical wards.
She is a very experienced sister and has innovatively developed systems to ensure early and safe discharge of patients. She liases with the community team and is actively involved in the assessment and management of patients needing Domicilary ventilation for Respiratory failure. In addition to this, she is actively involved in teaching and training both medical students and junior doctors.
For further information please contact:
