About the Service
The Department of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine is based in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (Children’s Hospital). It provides a wide range of services for children with breathing problems including:
- Regional Cystic Fibrosis Service
- A comprehensive asthma service including:
- Nurse-led asthma clinics
- Community-based asthma clinics
- Hospital asthma clinics
- Difficult-to-treat asthma clinics
- Management of complex respiratory conditions such as pneumonia, parapneumonic effusions and empyema thoracis
- Flexible Bronchoscopy (what is this?)
- Investigation and management of sleep-disordered breathing
- Initiation and support of long-term ventilation for technology-dependent children.
- Liaison with Paediatric ENT in the management of childhood airway problems
- Liaison with Paediatric Surgery in the management of congenital thoracic malformations
The department also has strong links with education and research at Queen’s University Belfast. We specialise in respiratory investigations, particularly looking at pulmonary function testing in children and sleep-disordered breathing.
Read details of the Multidisciplinary team in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine
How to access this service
If you would like your child to be seen by the respiratory service, you should contact your GP or hospital consultant, and they will be able to refer your child if needed.
This service does not accept direct referrals from parents.
What should I bring to my appointment?
It is usually helpful to bring any medications, inhalers (with spacers) or other treatments your child is taking. If you have a copy of the personal child health record (‘the red book’), this should also be brought along.
Information for GPs and Consultants
Most GP referrals will be triaged towards the respiratory clinics depending on the information included in the referral. We welcome referrals to specific services but changing clinic profiles, staffing levels and waiting times may mean that the clinic to which the patient was originally referred may not always be the most appropriate place for them to be seen.
Referrals for specialist opinions from other consultants are welcomed by letter, fax or telephone. Referrals can be made through the Consultants or their secretaries. Inpatient referrals can be made through the Paediatric Respiratory Registrar or the Paediatric Registrar on call.
Location of the Service
Outpatient clinics mostly take place in the main outpatients department at the Children’s Hospital. Some clinics are also run in Beech Hall Health and Wellbeing Centre.
Inpatient services are based in Allen Ward in the Children’s Hospital, with some older patients with Cystic Fibrosis staying in Cherry Tree House the Children’s Hospital.
Patients admitted for daycase flexible bronchoscopy are usually admitted to the Day Surgical Unit.
Download fasting instructions for flexible bronchoscopy.