Patient Letters

These are sent out by Newcastle Hospitals to patients undertaking a sleep test or setting up on CPAP, and can be adapted for your patients.

Pre-sleep test letter

Dear _________________,

As part of your sleep assessment, monitoring equipment is being collected from the [Hospital Address]. Please can you use this for one night only and return it to the Hospital for analysis. From this information, a diagnosis can be made. We will contact you with the results and make suggestions about appropriate management.

Instructions are attached but will also be included with your recorder. This video produced by the manufacturer will also assist you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awa4z2fFn7A There is no need to contact us if the Test Complete light does not turn green on completion of the monitoring. Simply return the recorder as agreed with your Clinician.

Written information on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and its management can be found here: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/obstructive-sleep-apnoea-osa/what-is-it and a short video overview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEuFw_nu8oA

We may ask you about awake-time sleepiness. The main tool we use to assess this is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. If we require this information to assist in our assessment a link to the questionnaire is here: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/obstructive-sleep-apnoea-osa/diagnosis/epworth-sleepiness-scale

Yours Sincerely

Regional Sleep Team

CPAP set-up letter

Dear ________________,

Your CPAP machine and mask are being collected from the [Hospital]. Your machine is ready for you to use.

Instructions

Written instructions are attached. The manuals for both your machine and mask will be included. Alongside these to assist you in fitting your mask and additional information on your device / using this therapy please watch the short videos below:

Fitting and looking after your mask: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pMTNSxB6yE&list=PLKhwMRQA-UQjdTBDMTY9MNqjuys9hXXqF&index=5&t=0s

Setting up and using your CPAP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOGkJvSPhsM

Further resources and helpful guides from your device manufacturer are here: https://www.resmed.co.uk/patient/get-support/resource/remote-cpap-set-up/

Humidifier

The humidifier attachment and climate line tubing shown in the second video is not included as standard for everyone at first. Although some patients may find CPAP dries the nose and mouth at first, many find an improvement in the first month of using CPAP without this. If there is persistent dryness after this causing discomfort or disturbed sleep then a humidifier may help.

Remote Monitoring

Your CPAP machine is enabled for remote monitoring. This allows for evaluation of your CPAP treatment and changes to be made to your prescription if required. All data is stored by an external company. They have no access to your data but the [hospital] can access this data at any time to support you in using this therapy. Your machine will need to be connected to the power supply for one hour after use to allow the transfer of this information. Unless you contact us we will assume that you are happy to consent to the use of remote monitoring. If you have any concerns or would like to discuss this with a member of staff please contact us using the email or telephone number below.

CPAP Review

After you have used CPAP for a short period we will review your progress. This will be undertaken by telephone. We will assess your response to treatment and aim to resolve any difficulties. As part of this review we will ask you to complete the Epworth Sleepiness Questionnaire to reflect how you feel with CPAP. This can be accessed here: https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/obstructive-sleep-apnoea-osa/diagnosis/epworth-sleepiness-scale Please complete on the day of your review based on how you feel using CPAP and give your clinician the score.

Advice and Support

For useful information about OSA and using CPAP visit the Sleep Apnoea Trust website http://www.sleep-apnoea-trust.org/ There is information here about “Living with your CPAP” which may help solve specific issues with the mask or machine in addition to the other information provided. If you are unable to resolve your issue advice and support with CPAP is also available from our experienced Sleep Team via XXXXX or if you are unable to email by telephoning [number] (Team Hours: Monday to Thursday 08:30 – 17:00 and Friday 08:30-16:00) and leave a voicemail including your name, contact details and a brief description of your query. We receive a large volume of enquiries each day which we respond to in order. Please only contact us once and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.