Respiratory

Key Information

About the team

The Community Respiratory Team (CRT) is a team made up of specialist respiratory nurses, physiotherapists and access to the dietetic service, whose advanced skills provide comprehensive respiratory assessments to patients in Medway with the following lung conditions: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) and Bronchiectasis.

We can use a range of treatments to help you to better manage your lung condition and to monitor the progression of your specific lung disease. Depending on clinical need, we are able to offer you medication reviews, oxygen assessments when appropriate, referral for dietetic assessments and pulmonary rehabilitation.. Using expert knowledge, we aim to ensure that any treatment for your condition is optimised and individualised in accordance with national guidelines. We liaise with your General Practitioner, Practice Nurse and respiratory consultants where appropriate to ensure the best treatment for your condition. We will also refer you to other specialist teams within Medway Community Health Care where necessary.

We also work with the Respiratory Consultants at the hospital to provide a seamless transition to hospital clinics where necessary. If you are admitted to hospital with a respiratory condition we will review you as soon as possible upon your discharge.

We provide:-

• An "unwell service” which, where appropriate, we can offer patients known to the respiratory team a same day appointment or treatment over the phone, helping to treat acute episodes promptly and preventing unnecessary admission to hospital.  
• Referral to MCH Nutrition & Dietetics, for eligible patients who have additional nutritional needs.
• Suitable patients will be offered the opportunity to attend our local pulmonary rehabilitation exercise classes which run in Medway throughout the year.
• We run oxygen clinics and when necessary prescribe oxygen and provide reviews for those on oxygen therapy.
• We are able to offer respiratory reviews upon request by the patients, these could be virtual or face to face.
• If you think we could help you please contact your GP or healthcare professional and ask them to carry out Spirometry (a quick and painless test which measures how well you can breathe) to be certain you will benefit from a referral to our team.
• Clinical support and advice is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 4:15pm, on 0300 123 3444
• Regular clinics are run at various healthy living centres across Medway (these can be face to face or virtual dependent on demand a capacity) .
• Patient’s seen by the unwell service will be seen in their home.