UK comes out worst in diagnosis and treatment availability

[Joe McManus]

I just blogged about some interesting international findings which confirm what
most of us already know first-hand:

http://blog.cpap.co.uk/2007/09/uk-worst-access-to-diagnosis-and-treatment-of-patients-with-suspected-sleep-apnea

In the UK we have 0.3 polysomnograph equipped beds available for every 100,000 people. In Belgium that number is 1.5, or 5 times as high.

So if treatment is that inaccessible, and every hour we don't sleep well puts us at risk of all sorts of trouble, would it be fair to say the government is knowingly killing us?

A bit strong perhaps but I'm sure you get what I mean.

What's your view on all this malarkey?

[JackTheSnorer]

That is quite shocking and re-confirms the state of the NHS here. Just imagine how all the lies-based Iraq money (Iran next?) could have gone to sorting this mess out. It would have gone a looooong way, if not all the way!

[mart9012]

I agree entirely of course, however, I felt that CPAP was still in its infancy here.. I had never heard of it and sleep apnoea was I though an illness where your respiration ceases conpletely in sleep!!!

My Doctor was really on the ball and suspected OSA early on and I was lucky that I lived within catchment of a major chest unit... There is a very active OSA support group in the Oxford area.

I hope that with the push for vehicle safety issues that OSA gets a bigger profile and that more help is made available to people to get help.