Patients with breathing difficulties will receive earlier diagnosis and treatment thanks to a new spirometer purchased with funds from Kingston Hospital Charity for Kingston Hospital’s respiratory services.

The upgraded spirometer, which measures lung capacity and air flow will be of particular benefit for the assessment of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  It will also be used as part of the pre-operative assessment for patients with breathing difficulties needing a general anaesthetic.

The new machine which has been connected into Kingston Hospital’s digital network, allows for faster and more accurate testing, and eliminates the need to print results on paper, ensuring a more reliable and secure way to share patient information across the hospital. Patient test results can also be saved and collated to monitor patient lung capacity and identify trends over time.

Senior Chief Respiratory Physiologist Manoj Bhandari said:

“We are delighted with this new spirometer and thank all those who supported the charity for funding it. With the equipment’s improved functionality and reliability, we hope to see a reduction in the number of full lung function referrals and repeat tests. With any diagnostic test the more accurate the equipment the better.”

The respiratory service plans to expand its services and train more nurses in the use of the new spirometer enabling the department to test and treat more patients.