What is respiratory physiotherapy?
Respiratory physiotherapy is a branch of physiotherapy that focuses on improving lung function. It’s typically needed as a form of rehabilitation for those experiencing chronic lung conditions.
With extensive clinical experience in managing chronic lung disease, our outpatient physiotherapy team provides tailored, individualised assessments to meet each patient’s unique needs.
In addition to offering specialist interventions for the long-term management of chronic conditions, our treatment plans are centred around preventing secondary lung and heart complications. Our respiratory physiotherapists provide their services at Harefield and Royal Brompton hospitals, and Wimpole Street Consulting Rooms and Diagnostic Centre, for adults, and for children at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Experts in respiratory medicine
Our specialist respiratory services include:
- short-notice appointments, in as little as 24 hours
- fast and accurate diagnosis
- quick access to treatment
Managing and optimising conditions
Our team assesses and supports patients’ rehabilitation for a range of conditions including:
- bronchiectasis and lung infection – including non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection and fungal infection
- cystic fibrosis
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- interstitial lung disease (ILD)
- asthma
- chronic cough
- exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO)
- unexplained breathlessness and breathing pattern dysfunction (BPD)
- primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD)
- large airway collapse (LAC)
- long COVID
To find out how our respiratory physiotherapy team can support your condition, get in touch to book an appointment with one of our specialists.
Personalised treatment
Our physiotherapy team is dedicated to providing personalized care, ensuring that each patient receives the most appropriate treatment for their condition. Our goal is to enhance quality of life and maximize each patient’s potential through a range of tailored treatments, including:
Specialised respiratory treatments include:
- long-term oxygen assessment and prescription
- ambulatory oxygen assessment and prescription
- drug response assessments for mucolytics and/or nebulised antibiotics
- advanced airway clearance techniques (ACT) through breathing strategies, positioning, and respiratory adjuncts
- individualised escalation ACT plans during an exacerbation.
- breathlessness management strategies
Your health is our priority
We offer this service at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, as well as Wimpole Street Consulting Rooms and Diagnostic Centre.
Short-notice, remote, in-person clinic appointments or home visits are available upon consultant referral. Referrers should provide a clinic letter with relevant test results. Contact our team to arrange an appointment.
Locations
Our respiratory physiotherapy specialists provide care at the following locations:
Our specialists
Mrs Sita Kansagra is a highly specialised respiratory physiotherapist who has worked at a specialist level at the Royal Brompton Hospital for over 10 years. Her work co-leading the NHS outpatient service has focused on treating patients with chronic lung disease, complex airway clearance needs and breathing pattern disruption, as well as upper airway disorders including exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) and large airway collapse.
For 6 years Sita was a key member of the specialist asthma team at the Royal Brompton, working alongside world renowned consultants. She has gained a passion for treating patients with complex asthma presentations and working with patients starting cutting edge treatments.
Her experience working in this multidisciplinary team has embedded her holistic, patient focused approach to all her treatments. In addition to her vast respiratory clinical experience, Sita has delivered lectures on the University College London cardio-respiratory masters course on breathing pattern disorders and upper airway disorders, and also delivered a lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine on airway clearance methods.
Her specialists areas of interests are:
- breathing pattern and cough assessment
- airway clearance
- long term respiratory conditions.
Mr Oliver Smith is a respiratory physiotherapist at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals. He graduated from the University of Southampton (MSc pre-reg) and completed junior and senior rotations in respiratory and non-respiratory specialties at University hospital Southampton. He then moved to Oxford University hospitals where he specialised further in respiratory medicine and eventually took over as the team lead for the outpatient and inpatient team. He now works as an outpatient clinical specialist Physiotherapist at RBH following a year leading the oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation service.
The treatment that Oliver Smith provides is generally targeted towards the management of cough, sputum, breathlessness, fatigue and poor exercise tolerance.
Gemma Korff has work at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals since 2021 and has more than 15 years of clinical experience within the field of respiratory physiotherapy, specialising in respiratory medicine including adult inpatient and outpatients.
Her areas of clinical expertise include:
- long COVID
- oxygen assessment and pulmonary rehabilitation
- chronic suppurative lung disease including bronchiectasis
- obstructive lung diseases such as asthma
- breathing pattern dysfunction
- ventilation