Doctors urge Government to 'wake up' to new sleep apnoea bill

Aug 26 2004

“Heavy snoring and sleep apnoea used to be seen as a laughing matter – but this new bill underlines the fact that the condition is no joke.

“Sleep apnoea is a debilitating condition and affects a minimum of 1 in 50 adults in the UK yet there are only 180 beds in the UK dedicated to people with sleep disorders.

“A chronic lack of lung specialists and ‘diagnostic sleep centres’ in the UK is currently hampering fast referrals for diagnosis and treatment. Also provision for investigation and treatment of OSA is one of the worst examples of postcode prescribing, since some Primary Care Trusts fail to recognise it as a problem – indeed, recent BTS research shows that sleep disease sufferers have to wait 8 years to get their symptoms checked out.

“The BTS supports the Sleep Apnoea Bill and urges the Government to wake up to sleep apnoea and address the provision of resources and equipment to tackle it.”