Bronchiectasis Service

Bronchiectasis is a long-term condition that affects the airways in your lungs.

When you breathe, air is carried into your lungs through your airways, also called bronchi. The bronchi divide again and again into thousands of smaller airways called bronchioles. Your airways contain tiny glands that produce a small amount of mucus. Mucus helps to keep your airways moist, and traps the dust and germs that you breathe in. The mucus is moved away by tiny hairs, called cilia, which line your airways.

If you have bronchiectasis, your airways become widened and cannot clear themselves properly. This means mucus builds up and your airways can become infected by bacteria.

What are the symptoms? 

The most common symptom of bronchiectasis is coughing up sputum. Frequent chest infections are also a common feature of bronchiectasis.

Other symptoms you might have are: 

• Breathlessness, having difficulty breathing or feeling short of breathing
• Feeling very tired or finding it difficult to concentrate.
• Problems with your sinuses.
• Cough incontinence, also called bladder leakage.
• Anxiety and depression.

Less common symptoms include: 

• Coughing up blood.
• Chest or joint pain.

Sometimes, if the number of bacteria multiply, you will get a chest infection or a flare-up of your symptoms. It is important to recognise and treat chest infections. If you do not get treatment, your airways may be damaged further. Most people with bronchiectasis have a normal life expectancy with treatment tailored to their needs.

At Nottingham, we have a team of healthcare professionals who provide care for people with bronchiectasis both as an inpatient and outpatient. This includes doctors, specialist nurses, and respiratory physiotherapists. In addition, we work closely with colleagues in Primary Care, including GPs, community nurses and colleagues from other medical specialities in Secondary Care.

Consultants

GPs and other medical staff can refer complex bronchiectasis patients to the service using either the GP referral system or an internal referral via Nervecentre.

Specialist Nursing Team

The Specialist Nurses can provide patients and GPs with advice and guidance on managing infections, monitoring sputum results, and education about chest clearance techniques and reducing infections that can cause further lung damage.

We run nurse-led clinics to see patients regularly and as required to help ensure their chest health is optimised.

There is an internal Nervecentre referral available under Medical Tasks for inpatients.

For outpatient enquiries, please email: nuhnt.bronchiectasiscns@nhs.net

Allied Health Professionals