Respiratory

Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Service

The Department of respiratory medicine and cystic fibrosis (CF) provides comprehensive services to the West Midlands including cystic fibrosis, sleep disorders, difficult asthma, invasive and non-invasive long-term ventilation, rare respiratory conditions such as primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD), interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis and cross working with other subspecialties.

We’ve recently successfully developed a multi-purpose respiratory and CF unit (RCFU) and established a managed paediatric CF network, as well as long-term ventilation, difficult asthma, lung function and regional sleep and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) services. We work closely with other healthcare providers to offer the National Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia clinical service.

The cystic fibrosis service sits at the centre of the South and Central West Midlands Paediatric CF Network, one of the largest paediatric CF networks in the country. We have close links with the West Midlands Newborn Screening service based at the Children’s Hospital and also work closely with liver services.

Who we treat

We treat children and young people aged between 0-18 years with asthma, including 40 to 50 with difficult asthma receiving specialised treatments. We also see more than 300 patients with cystic fibrosis, those with chronic lung disease of prematurity, non-CF bronchiectasis (including 40 with primary ciliary dyskinesia) and currently about 70 children and young people needing non-invasive and invasive ventilation and more than 1,000 with chronic long term respiratory conditions.

The team

Our department is highly regarded both locally and regionally as providing comprehensive high-quality diagnostic and clinical services delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, specialist nurses, physiotherapists, dietitians and clinical scientists. The team provide care in the community and the hospital. They work with families to improve their journeys and avoid unnecessary admission by early intervention.

Although the majority of our respiratory children and young people are managed as outpatients, there are significant and increasing inpatient numbers. We aim to review the conditions of our children and young people regularly to avoid the need for hospital admission, where possible, helping patients and families to manage their conditions at home.