Job overview

You will support the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing, particularly Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), through:

• Performing and interpreting sleep studies (overnight oximetry & respiratory polygraphy)

• Supporting patients with CPAP/NIV therapy, both in-person and remotely

• Conducting respiratory function tests (spirometry, SNIP, capillary gases, etc.)

• Educating patients on sleep hygiene and therapy adherence

• Collaborating in multi-disciplinary team meetings

• Taking part in service improvement, research and teaching

Upon successful completion of the PGCert, you'll transition to a full Band 5 Clinical Physiologist role.

Main duties of the job

As a sleep physiologist you will specialise in diagnosing and treating sleep disordered breathing but in particular the primary role involves conducting and interpreting sleep studies (Respiratory Polygraphy and Overnight Oximetry) to assess for obstructive sleep apnoea. You will work closely with patients to monitor sleep patterns using specialised equipment, analyse physiological data sets and assist physicians and senior physiologists in developing treatment plans for patients suffering with sleep disordered breathing predominantly.

As a Sleep physiologist you will also be expected to provide education on sleep hygiene, lifestyle interventions and set up patients and support the use of therapies such as CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or NIV (Non Invasive ventilation) for obstructive sleep apnea using a range of devices, technological interfaces and mask technology using both remote and face to face consultations and support structures. Participation in the learning of junior staff members and play an active role in multi disciplinary team meetings to discuss complex sleep or ventilation patients.

You will also be expected to be competent in a range of respiratory muscle assessments, including Cough peak flow, Spirometry, SNIP and mouth pressure and capillary blood gas measurements to support the management of these patients.

Working for our organisation

The Lung Function and Sleep Service at Gloucestershire Hospitals is a busy service with a blended staff of Physiologists, Nurses and Assistant / Associate practitioners. We are committed to seeing our staff succeed in their career journey and will look to support education opportunities and progression where possible. We operate our services from 3 locations, Cheltenham General as our main site, an inpatient spoke at Gloucestershire Royal and our diagnostic sleep service and  at the Gloucestershire Community Diagnostic Centre at Gloucester Quays. 

We have a cohort of approximately 6500 patient using CPAP, 350 on NIV and undertook over 1700 diagnostic sleep studies and initiated over 900 CPAP treatments for patients in 2024-25. In addition we undertook pulmonary function test on 4000 patients.