Oxygen, ventilation & sleep support
Set-up, optimisation and review of oxygen therapy, non-invasive ventilation and sleep-disordered breathing — delivered by a physiotherapy team working alongside our respiratory and sleep physician.
Breathing support and good-quality sleep are central to living well with a heart or lung condition. We assess what you need, set up and fine-tune your equipment, and review it over time — with the medical oversight of our respiratory and sleep physician where appropriate.
How we can help
Home oxygen is prescribed by a specialist physician. We make sure it is set up properly, teach you to use it safely, and review it over time. Your specialist may request a six-minute walk test here as part of deciding whether oxygen is needed — it shows what your oxygen level does on exertion, which a resting reading cannot.
CPAP adjustment, mask fitting and troubleshooting. BiPAP installed on a specialist’s prescription, with ongoing monitoring of settings and comfort.
Sleep studies and the first CPAP set-up are done by Dr Koduri's team at CQ Respiratory and Sleep Clinic. Here we run sleep apnoea checks, adjust CPAP settings and help with snoring and disturbed sleep.
Follow-up to keep therapy comfortable, effective and easy to stick with day to day.
Who it's for
Support for people who rely on breathing therapy, or who suspect their sleep is affecting their health.
Low oxygen levels
People with chronic lung disease who use, or may need, home oxygen.
Ventilation needs
Those needing CPAP or bilevel support for breathing or chronic hypercapnia.
Disturbed sleep
Snoring, daytime fatigue or suspected obstructive sleep apnoea.
Home oxygen and BiPAP (bilevel ventilation) both need a prescription from a specialist physician. Once prescribed, we make sure oxygen is set up properly and that you understand how to use it day to day. BiPAP is usually prescribed for people with neuromuscular conditions; we may install it on the specialist's behalf and then monitor your settings and comfort. Our physiotherapy team works closely with Dr Sudhakar Koduri, Specialist Respiratory and Sleep Physician, your GP, or other specialists, so assessment, set-up and review stay coordinated.
What happens at your first appointment
The first appointment is an assessment, not a fitting. We go through your history and your symptoms, look at how you are breathing, and measure oxygen saturation at rest and during activity — because for many people the number at rest looks acceptable and only falls once they move. Where sleep is the concern, we ask about your nights and about how you feel through the day, since daytime sleepiness is often the more telling symptom.
What follows depends on what we find. It may be a recording overnight or during exertion, a referral for formal sleep or lung function testing, a review of equipment you already have, or advice that your breathlessness has a cause oxygen would not fix.
Ongoing review
Equipment needs change, and settings that suited you last year may not suit you now. Where we set up or support therapy we review it — checking the device is being used comfortably, that masks and tubing still fit, that flow or pressure settings still match your needs, and that the therapy is doing what it was prescribed to do.
Oxygen and non-invasive ventilation are prescribed by a doctor, not by a physiotherapist. Our role is assessment, set-up, technique, troubleshooting and review, alongside the prescribing physician. If something is not working — the mask leaks, the machine wakes you, you have quietly stopped using it — say so early. Most of these problems are solvable, and the usual reason therapy fails is that nobody was told it had become intolerable.
Sleep apnoea check
Not sure if your sleep is affecting your health? Take a quick check for obstructive sleep apnoea and our team will be in touch.
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