Service provided - sleep service

At Wye Valley NHS Trust we provide the following diagnostic tests:

1. Multi-night overnight oximetry – This involves wearing a watch-like monitor on a finger during sleep and is done at home. It is collected from the sleep clinic, worn overnight over a minimum of two consecutive nights and then returned for a recording of your night's sleep to be downloaded.

2. Limited Channel Sleep study – This is a slightly more in-depth test. It involves attending the sleep clinic for a ‘fitting’ session and then the equipment. This is worn overnight at home and returned the next day. It involves a band around the chest and abdomen to measure breathing, a small flow sensor in the nostrils and an oxygen monitor on the finger.

3. Actigraphy - This involves wearing a movement monitor, resembling a wristwatch, on your arm for 2 to 4 weeks, 24hrs a day. This is used to assess sleep regularity. It involves attending the sleep clinic for a ‘fitting’ session. A sleep diary is provided to you at this appointment.

4. WatchPAT – this involves a monitor for home wear, that has 3 points of contact: a chest sensor, the watch on your wrist, and a finger probe. This test not only gives us information on your oxygen levels, heart rate, snoring and sleep position, but it provides us with a breakdown of your sleep phases and sleep quality.

5. Sleep diaries and questionnaires – Part of the diagnosis and your appointment with us, is to complete questionnaires. These can be objective or subjective in nature, but allows for a more comprehensive understanding of your condition, how it affects you, and how we can improve it. 

We provide the following treatment options:

1. CPAP - Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the gold standard treatment for sleep apnoea disordered breathing (SDB). A trained member of staff will provide you with all the necessary information for you to be fully compliant with CPAP. This consists of a machine that blows room air at a set pressure. The machine is attached to a tube, and to a mask, which will provide enough pressure to keep your airways open throughout the night.

2. Positional device – if you have positional sleep disordered breathing, and you have not managed to tolerate CPAP, we can provide you with this treatment. This is a device attached to a strap that will go around your chest/abdomen. It is set to vibrate whenever you go on your back.

3. NIV – non-invasive ventilation is a treatment used for patients in whom CPAP is no longer sufficiently strong, or patients who are in respiratory failure due to sleep apnoea, obesity, COPD, neuromuscular conditions, spinal conditions, or a combination of these. It has a similar set up to CPAP (with a tube and a mask).

4. Lifestyle changes and advice – some patients who suffer from mild forms of sleep disordered breathing, or poor sleep quality, may need lifestyle advice. We can request appropriate referrals to exercise, dieticians, weight management, psychology.