Lung Health Clinics

What are the lung nurse clinics? 

We are working with GP Practices to contact patients who have been identified as being at a higher risk of developing lung disease inviting them to a lung health clinic in local NHS health centres or Doctors surgeries.

You are eligible if:

• You are aged 55-75 years old and have ever smoked or you are in this age group and have COPD

A letter will come from your own GP, asking you to telephone the lung nurse service directly to book an appointment. Please book your appointment as soon as you can as the sooner lung conditions are detected, the more we can do to help.

If you have lost your invite letter or if you believe you meet the criteria above and have not received an invite letter, you can telephone the service on 0151 254 3032.

What will happen at your appointment?

• We will ask you some questions about your lung health and give you advice around what you can do to look after your lungs.
• Give you advice on signs and symptoms of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and lung cancer
• If you don’t already have a diagnosis of COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), your breathing will be checked with a spirometry test
• Depending on your spirometry (breathing) test results, you may be referred to GP/practice nurse
• If you have a higher risk of lung cancer we will offer you a low dose CT scan to look at your lungs more closely

Here is a short clip of Paula, one of the Healthy Lung Nurses explaining a bit more about the appointment:

Where do the appointments take place?

Appointments will be offered in your area; this may be at your own GP practice or in another nearby  NHS Health Centre, and will be offered between 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.

If you miss the lung nurses in your area, you can still book an appointment, you just may have to travel a bit further.

If you are age 55-75 years old and have ever smoked or have COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) you will be invited by letter from your GP Practice in the following areas:

You can also view locations and dates of Previous Lung Health Clinics here.

Why is this being offered? 

We have top surgeons at Liverpool Heart and Chest (Broadgreen) and the latest radiotherapy available yet currently rates of lung cancers and death rates from lung cancer in Liverpool are higher than the national average. This is partly because we are finding lung cancers at a more advanced stage, making them more difficult to treat and cure.

What happens after the appointment?

After this appointment, some patients may be offered a Chest CT Scan at a local hospital for further investigations, if required.

Here is some more information about the pros and cons:

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Further information

If you have any queries, please contact the team by email: HealthyLung@liverpoolccg.nhs.uk