Bronchiectasis clinics run on all three hospital sites: The Royal Infirmary and Western General in Edinburgh City and at St John’s Hospital in Livingston.
You can gain access to the clinics through your general practitioner who will normally refer you because they believe that more in-depth investigations and diagnosis are required. You will be referred to the clinic closest to where you live.
The services provided at the Clinics aim to:
- Establish a definitive diagnosis of bronchiectasis – or otherwise exclude bronchiectasis
- Establish a treatment plan which is particular to your circumstances – and communicate that both to you and your GP
- Determine whether, depending on your particular circumstances, you can manage your condition at home with your personalised self management plan and support from your GP or you need closer monitoring in the clinic in which case you will be offered further appointments for monitoring and assess the need for a change to your treatment plan
- Carry out research into new and improved treatments – or methods of working which assist patients.
Investigations at clinic:
You may be asked to fill out a questionnaire while waiting for your appointment and have some tests (though these are not required at every visit) which may include
- Breathing tests (spirometry)
- Chest Xray
- Blood tests
- Sputum samples – whenever possible we ask that you bring a sputum sample with you to clinic for us to see and send for culture.
You may also be offered a session with the physiotherapists
Respiratory Ward
As well as the clinic which sees outpatients there is also a respiratory ward at each hospital for patients who require specialised medical attention e.g. intravenous (IV) antibiotics or oxygen therapy for a short period if you are very unwell. Usually these are patients with severe bronchiectasis or who have bronchiectasis which is difficult to treat.
Treatment Room
Whenever possible we aim to give you treatment at home, even if you need more intensive treatment, for example with IV antibiotics. There are a number of different services on the different hospital sites to help with this and try to keep your hospital visits to a minimum.
Multi-disciplinary Team
The Lothian bronchiectasis service is run by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of:
- consultants in respiratory medicine and microbiology
- speciality doctor in respiratory medicine
- respiratory nurse specialists
- specialist physiotherapists
- pharmacist
- bronchiectasis research nurses
