Spirometry is a common, non-invasive lung function test that measures the volume of air you can inhale and exhale, as well as how quickly you can blow it out. It is primarily used to diagnose respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD. Due to the nature of the test, the delivery of spirometry tests was suspended during the Covid pandemic for safety reasons. To both perform and then interpret a spirometry test the clinician has to be accredited via the Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology (ARTP) and stay on the ARTP register.
The suspension of spirometry has led to significant backlogs / waiting lists of patients waiting for this important diagnostic test. In addition, the need to have staff on the ARTP register for performing and interpretation has made it difficult for some Practices / PCNs to provide this service. North Staffordshire GP Federation therefore provide it for the patients of practices / PCNs who are not able to deliver this service themselves. This is for approximately half the practices in North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. North Staffs GP Federation have 3 staff accredited to deliver spirometry and 2 staff accredited to interpret the test results. This is important as the registered practice gets a report which details the ongoing suggested clinical management for the patient.
We deliver the service from 2 main sites (Basford House and Meir Park Surgery), providing between 40 and 50 spirometry tests per week. This is a valued service by the member practices we deliver this service for.