Highlands' pioneering drive-through asthma clinic
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The first drive-through severe asthma clinic, believed to be the first in Scotland, took place this month in NHS Highland.
The patients were seen in the Covid-testing tent based at Raigmore Hospital which was turned into their clinic for the day.
Corinne Clark, advanced respiratory nurse specialist for NHS Highland, said: “This group of severe asthma patients, who are on biological therapies, all used to attend clinic every four weeks to receive their injections.
“At the start of the pandemic they were part of the shielding population so I had to quickly train them to self-administer these injections and this has carried on. The patients are monitored via telehealth and I also communicate with them regularly over Near Me or telephone.
“It worked well and our patients have embraced this new way of working but we were very aware that it had been a long time since they had been seen face-to-face due to the restrictions and we needed to find a way around that.”
The Sleep Team had previously used the testing tent for their patients so respiratory decided to try it out and see how well it worked.
Corinne added: “We needed to see these patients to check their lung function, ask them to perform breathing tests and also test their bloods. We weren’t sure how it would work in the tent so the first clinic was for six patients who were more than happy to help us test this change in working.
“I’m delighted to say it worked really well. Working with respiratory physiologist colleagues Jacki O`Neil and Elizabeth Adair, we were able to review these patients over an afternoon. It was great to see them in person again and to know that the technology required for this works with this kind of clinic is fantastic.
“Feedback on the day was very positive from both patients and colleagues that took part. It is our hope that we can continue to work in this way and offer monthly testing for this group of patients.”
Sandi Elliot was one of the patients who attended the first clinic.
She said: “The drive through was stress free. The team were very good at explaining what was going to happen and it was also lovely to see them again. Corinne makes you feel very relaxed and is extremely good at her job, it makes a big difference seeing her face to face. I thought being able to drive through for this clinic was a great idea.”
