Respiratory

The Respiratory Unit provides a comprehensive inpatient and outpatient service to the Midland region.

This includes diagnostic and treatment services for patients referred for consultation or admitted acutely.

About our department

The department runs a busy outpatient service covering general respiratory and sleep medicine.

Outreach clinics are performed at two rural hospitals.

Guide for referral to chest conference Chest conference referral form PET-CT request form

We also offer a dedicated inpatient unit with excellent nursing and support staff, that takes all acute and elective respiratory admissions under our care.

The service works closely with General Medicine and Thoracic Surgery.

Other features of the service:

Strong nursing support – well integrated with nurse-led clinics, and have highly skilled nurses specialising in COPD, asthma and pneumonia, cystic fibrosis and lung cancer.
Closely involved with our large regional oncology services with a dedicated lung cancer database, weekly multidisciplinary lung cancer meeting and nursing coordination of the patient journey.
Very active research department with excellent research nurse support, and usually employ a Research Fellow.
Supported by excellent laboratory services including a full respiratory function laboratory and a three-bed sleep laboratory with some community studies being performed.
Provide oversight for spirometry services at the Waikato DHB’s rural hospitals.

Our department is affiliated with the Auckland University Medical School through the Waikato Campus, and provides teaching to 5th year medical students as well as trainee interns and house officers.

We have rotating registrar posts as well as being accredited for registrar training (Basic & Advanced) in Respiratory Medicine with the RACP.

Who we are

Four consultants (both full-time and part-time)
Three registrars
Three house officers
Research Fellow position available from time to time (full-time)
Five specialty nurses (COPD / asthma / pneumonia / ILD / lung cancer)
Active research unit with three dedicated research nurses
Full lung function laboratory
Active Sleep Service with full PSG sleep laboratory

We provide

Full orientation to the unit
Assignment to team
Four – six hours training per week
Opportunity for training in lung function testing
Opportunity for training in sleep medicine
Excellent training programme towards RACP exams
Mentoring system

Teaching programme

Education and training in both formal and informal settings. RMOs are well supported in attending teaching sessions towards RACP exams
Weekly grand round
Weekly trainee lectures
Daily training at handover meeting
Journal club
Weekly X-ray session

Clinical Facilities

Inpatient wards
Outpatient facilities

How to refer to the weekly Chest Conference

Chest Conference is a multi-disciplinary meeting set up to give a consensus of opinion on a problem, or to recommend a treatment plan.

We do not take over the clinical care of the referred patient.

To refer to the Chest Conference an electronic referral needs to be completed and e-mailed back to chestconf@waikatodhb.health.nz. This form needs to be e-mailed back before 2 pm on Tuesday and the Conference will take place the following day. You can download a copy of the referral form which is located at the top right hand corner of this page. There are also guidelines on how to complete which can also be downloaded.

Ensure that the location of the relevant films is included.

Other relevant document can be faxed to (07) 839 8770 or sent electronically to the chestconf@waikatodhb.health.nz.

If you need to request a PET-CT, the referral form can be downloaded and is also located at the top right hand corner of this page.