Patients in the south of Powys now have access to full lung function testing locally thanks to the installation of a new piece of testing equipment.

The £42,000 Body Plethysmograph (or Bodybox) has been installed at Powys Teaching Health Board’s Bronllys Hospital and will reduce the amount of patient travel as well as shorten waiting times.

Kimberley Lewis, Specialised Respiratory Physiologist, said: “Typically, a patient would have previously gone to see their GP, then a consultant - who was usually over the border - and then be referred to a hospital in England for the lung function tests”.

Now, consultants involved in the care of any PTHB patient can now refer patients directly for lung function testing in their home healthboard.

It is hoped that in the future, a change in the pathway will enable GPs to refer patients directly to testing so the tests here in Bronllys are ready for the consultant when they see the patient in clinic.

“So as the first two stages can be done in-county, this will cut down on the amount of travel a patient needs to do and, as we have added capacity to the system, we can shorten the time before a patient can be given a consultant appointment,” she added.

The Bodybox can test for a range of lung functions including the resistance or narrowing within the airways and the total amount of air inside the lungs. This includes the amount of air that a patient can breathe in and out, and the amount left inside the lungs when the patient has blown everything out. These are essential tests for the treatment of conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD. They are also requested by other specialities, including cardiology and rheumatology, to check that medications are not affecting the lungs. 

Using the equipment is a painless procedure, with the patient sitting within the unit with a ‘peg’ to cover the nose while they breathe into the unit in a variety of ways as guided by the physiologist.

The service is also now working on plans to install a second unit in the north of the county.