The regional occupational lung disease service is one of none national services that provides highly specialised assessments for suspected cases of:
- Occupational asthma/COPD
- Occupational rhinitis
- Occupational hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- Industrial dust-related lung diseases such as asbestosis and silicosis
- Other rare diseases related to certain occupations
We receive referrals from GPs, respiratory physicians and occupational physicians.
The team
- Two consultant respiratory physicians with occupational lung disease expertise
- One specialist respiratory physiologist
- One service secretary
We also work closely with the Newcastle Interstitial Lung Disease Service (NILDS) to assess cases of suspected asbestosis and the highly specialised speech and language therapists (ENT service) in cases of occupational inducible laryngeal obstruction.
Tests
When you attend the clinic, we may carry out the following tests:
- Lung function tests
- Chest x-ray
- Airway responsiveness measurements eg methacholine challenge test
- Skin prick tests
- Computerised peak flow analysis (OASYS)
Your assessment may take 2-3 hours to have all of the tests and see/speak to a doctor, to obtain detailed information about your occupational history and symptoms.
Depending on the results of the assessment we may also need to:
- Arrange a workplace visit with you and your employer’s agreement
- Arrange a specific inhalational challenge test to test if what you are breathing in at work is causing your asthma
- Arrange a ‘return to workplace challenge’ to help diagnose and manage your condition
Key contacts
Colin Dilks, service secretary
Telephone: 0191 2420138
Dr Jim Macfarlane, service lead
Telephone: 0191 2420138
Dr Hilary Tedd
Telephone: 0191 2424776
