Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Unit
CHI at Temple Street
Temple Street
Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 878 1814, (01) 878 1816 and (01) 878 4659
Hours: Monday to Friday, 07:45am to 4pm
The Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Unit provides individualised holistic family centred care to all and their families during their hospital stay/day treatment and day therapy.
Our respiratory and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) provides direct care to outpatients and inpatients with a wide range of conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Asthma, congenital lung abnormalities, immunodeficiencies with respiratory disease and respiratory management of neuromuscular conditions.
Our aim is to provide education and support to children and their families in all aspects of respiratory care. This includes day therapies, IV drug treatments, reviews and assessments.
We work within a multidisciplinary team framework which includes two Paediatric Respiratory Consultants, one Medical Registrar, one Senior House Officer, Physiotherapists, a Clinical Psychologist, Dietitians, Social Workers, Respiratory Scientists and Clinical Nurse Specialists.
The Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Unit is located on Level 2 Outpatients Department
The Respiratory Department
The Respiratory Department diagnoses and provides ongoing care for children with chronic respiratory problems including asthma, congenital lung abnormalities, Immunodeficiencies with respiratory disease and respiratory management of neuromuscular conditions.
Referrals
Referrals for the Respiratory Clinic can be made through your GP or direct referral from another hospital.
Services provided
- Consultation review and management of asthma, cough, chronic lung diseases.
- Asthma review and education
- Respiratory assessment includes full pulmonary function tests (Link to the Respiratory Lab)
Respiratory Clinics
Scheduled Respiratory Clinics are held 3-4 times a week from 8:30am-1pm.
Advice regarding your Child’s Respiratory Appointment
Please bring all respiratory medications including inhalers and devices with you to the clinic.
Additional Information
The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Outpatient Unit
The CHI at Temple Street is one of the six designated paediatric referral centers for CF in Ireland. Our paediatric CF unit aims to provide a comprehensive (holistic) approach to CF care and offers a team approach to all children and their families. This Unit provides care on an outpatient basis.
CF Clinics
CF Clinics are held every second Wednesday of the month from 8.30am – 1pm. Parents and children are escorted to individual rooms for the duration of their visit.
The majority of patients are seen in our outpatient department regularly, usually every three months. If your child’s care is shared with your local hospital your child will be seen here at least twice a year. Visits may be more frequent according to the specific needs of the child.
Extra clinic appointments
If your child is unwell and needs to be seen before their next clinic appointment they can be booked into the next CF clinic or be seen in the unit. If at any time you are concerned about the health of your child please contact the CF specialist nurse so they can arrange an appointment. The CF nurse can be contacted at (01) 878 4377 or through the hospital main switch (01) 878 4200 and bleep 795 or 730. Offices hours are 07:45-16:00 Monday to Friday.
Visiting health professionals
Visiting doctors or nurses sometimes come to the clinic to learn more about CF care. We will check with you that you are happy to have them at your child’s consultation. If you don’t want anybody else there, please tell a member of the CF team in the clinic. You do not have to give a reason and your decision will not affect your child’s treatment in any way.
Annual assessment
This is carried out once a year. It involves:
• Lung function for children aged 5 years and above. This is a special blowing test that measures the capacity of the lungs and airways (how big the lungs are) and the flow of air through the lungs (how well they work). (Click here to link to Respiratory Lab)
• Chest X-ray. This checks the appearance of the lungs.
• Blood test. A local anaesthetic cream is used to numb the area before the blood test is done. The blood test helps us monitor your child’s health and look at things that might cause us to change your child’s treatment for example liver function, glucose and vitamin levels and any bacterial or fungal infection.
• Glucose Tolerance Test. This test is performed on all children aged 8 years and over. Your child must fast from 12 midnight the previous night. A sample of blood will be taken to measure your child’s sugar level. Following this your child will be asked to drink a specific amount of Lucozade original (the amount is calculated according to your child’s weight).No other food or drink is allowed during this test. Two hours following this, a further sample of blood is drawn to measure sugar levels. Your child will be offered a light snack on completion of the test.
• Liver Ultrasound. Children from the age of 5 years have a liver scan. This is a painless procedure taking approximately 15 minutes to perform. However children need to fast from food and drink for 6 hours prior to the scan. Your appointment is sent from Radiology Department and will detail specifically fasting instructions.
We collect the results of this annual assessment over a number of weeks. A letter detailing your child’s blood results, lung function, and height and weight centiles will be sent to your GP and your shared-care consultant.
If you have any queries regarding results please do not hesitate to contact the CF nurse regarding same.
Additional Information
Newborn Screening (HSE)
Cystic Fibrosis Registry of Ireland
Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
