Clinical Support Services
For over 20 years, our mission has been to improve as many lives as possible with effective and reliable medical equipment and support. We are now one of the UK’s leading healthcare providers, specialising in the treatable medical condition Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). We have helped over 100,000 people with our expert guidance and professional In-Home Sleep Tests in more than 40 countries. Our sleep test services help to reduce the pressure on sleep clinics and NHS services around the UK, significantly decreasing patient sleep study waiting times.
Why our services are so important
The demand for sleep studies has grown significantly in recent years. The NHS diagnostic waiting times and activity data November 2022 monthly report shows that the waiting list for sleep studies is growing faster than any other diagnostic. Nearly 22,000 patients were on a waiting list for a sleep test at the end of November, up 66% from 13,000 just a year earlier. This is the largest increase out of all the diagnostics reported on. Of those, 34% of them have been waiting for longer than the six-week target. A year ago that figure was 27%.
This is despite more sleep studies being completed; in the year to November 2022, 90,701 sleep studies have been conducted, an increase of 17% from the previous year. While the number of tests being conducted is growing, the demand is growing even faster. Sleep clinics are under more pressure than ever before.
This pressure is not contained only to sleep studies – CPAP provision is also falling behind. A 2022 survey by the British Sleep Society found that the wait to begin routine CPAP is now running at an average of 13 weeks, and up to 40 weeks in some cases. Here, at Intus Healthcare, we can provide all the necessary resources and expertise to help sleep clinics and NHS trusts get back on top of their waiting lists.
How we can support your sleep clinic
We provide a range of clinical services. All can be tailored for each sleep clinic and their specific requirements – so whatever you need support with, we will work with you to create the solution.
Sleep study scoring and reporting
Our clinical team can score and report on studies from any sleep diagnostic test. Reports will be indistinguishable from your own.
Sleep test provision
We can provide an in home study to patients, provide the support and resources they need to complete the study and return a full report and recommendation to you within just a few days.
CPAP provision & support
We can provide CPAP devices and masks directly to your patients. Our clear, informative guides help your patients confidently begin therapy.
CPAP patient management
Our clinical team can handle patient queries and follow-ups, be it on a scheduled or ad-hoc basis.
What makes Intus different?
Speed: Our in-house team can turn around hundreds of sleep tests within days. Our logistics are ultra-efficient, sending thousands of diagnostics and CPAP supplies to patients across the UK every month.
Independence: As we are not linked to a manufacturer, we are not limited to specific products. Whichever software or equipment your clinic uses, we can support you without mandating any changes.
Accreditations and Reputation: Our clinical team are fully qualified. We are ISO 9001 accredited, regulated by the CQC, and have a TrustPilot score of 4.8. We have nearly 20 years of experience.
Flexibility: We tailor our processes and services around each clinic. Our job is to help, and so we provide as much flexibility as possible to fit around your requirements and working methods.
No fixed contracts or minimum requirements: We are able to provide our services for as long as required with no need to be tied into a fixed term contract.
Guaranteed Turnaround Times: Sleep study reporting can be completed and returned within 5 working days.
Case Study – November 2022
An NHS Trust with a sleep department run by a single member of staff. The department was responsible for organising sleep studies, chasing patients to complete the test, carrying out diagnostics and reporting and providing the recommended therapy, including CPAP equipment.
The department was behind schedule, with a rise in demand accounting for the backlog of patients who were waiting for a sleep test and a shortage of machines was adding a long wait for patients to receive treatment.
Sleep Studies – We were able to send overnight in-home sleep tests to 170 patients and our team communicated with patients to ensure tests were completed and returned in a timely manner. Once returned to us, the studies were analysed and detailed reports provided with recommendations for the appropriate treatment options.
Reporting and Scoring – We were also able to clear a backlog of 48 Noxturnal sleep studies that were performed by the NHS Trust but the data required manual scoring and reporting. This backlog was cleared and reports returned to the NHS Trust within 2 weeks.
CPAP Provision – A number of patients had already had a confirmed diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, however, due to CPAP machine shortages, the NHS Trust was unable to provide the necessary equipment. We were able to provide CPAP machines and masks directly to these patients, plus all others who had Sleep Apnoea confirmed from new tests that were completed. In total, we delivered 150 CPAP machines.
With our help and a collaborative working relationship, we assisted the trust in clearing all outstanding tasks, quickly and efficiently in just 6 weeks.
Our In-Home Sleep Test
Our simple WatchPat device monitors patients’ blood oxygen levels, heart rate, body position, body movements, snoring intensity, and the Peripheral Arterial Tone to confirm the presence of Sleep Apnoea.
We continuously receive five-star customer feedback outlining how straightforward our devices are and highlighting the positive experiences from our help and support.
