The Adult Cystic Fibrosis team works with young people and adults with a diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis and we welcome you to our service. If you are transitioning to us from local children’s services we will introduce ourselves to you and your family over the 12 months leading up to that point. This is usually when you start to attend adolescent clinics as part of your planned transition process. This leads in to a planned formal transfer of your care to us in adult CF care leading up to your 18thbirthday.
A small number of adults are diagnosed later in life and referred into our services sometimes through our fertility service.
We also welcome those moving into the area from elsewhere and are here for you throughout your time here in the Exeter region.
In response to the COVID pandemic we have learnt from the experience and adapted the way we run our CF clinics. We now offer both Face to Face and Virtual appointments depending on clinical need. Virtual appointments ( held by ‘Attend anywhere’ video link) have been welcomed by many of you allowing flexibility and avoiding the need to attend hospital so regularly. We will try and accommodate personal preference where possible and will adapt to any updates in Covid prevalence.
Your clinic appointments will be a mixture of Consultant lead and Nurse directed reviews. All individuals seen in clinic are discussed with the CF MDT at our weekly meeting to ensure high quality care.
The current clinic timings ( as of May 2022) are:
If there are specific infection control issues relevant to your care, or if it is important to see you at other times then arrangements can be made.
Please allow plenty of time for parking prior to your face to face appointment and notify ASAP of any cancellations to all ensure smooth and efficient running of the service.
Face to Face clinics:
People with CF are at risk of cross-infection with bugs from other people with CF. Face to face clinics are therefore organised to minimise the risk of this happening. We allocate you a specific appointment time to help with this and aim to keep you separate from other patients. On arrival, you are allocated your own clinic room and then (apart from height and weight measurements) all other activities take place within that room.Each room is cleaned before and after use to CF standards of care.
Virtual Clinics:
Virtual clinic appointments by ‘attend anywhere’ have been introduced during the COVID pandemic with home monitoring and will continue to form part of your CF care between face to face appointments and we hope you find these a safe and convenient way to access your CF care. The link will be sent to you to access appointments.
For all Face to Face and virtual clinics , please have your recent spirometry readings ( if appropriate) available ahead of the clinic ( see Tips below!)
Tips for a successful virtual appointment!
Please ensure you have any spirometry data , oxygen saturation data, any BM readings and recent weights available to maximise the effectiveness of your appointment.
Consider sending a cough swab/ sputum sample in a week before your appointment date so results are available for you
Think about where to take the Video call – good lighting is helpful, good wifi reception, ensure you will not be interrupted during important and sensitive discussion
If there are technical problems we can problem solve together by telephone and usually resolve this with you!
Each clinic is attended by at least one CF Doctor and /or CF nurse ( depending on the Clinic list – see ‘how are clinics run’) and members of the Multidisciplinary team.
Those available include:
The Royal Devon University Hospital Trust is a teaching hospital so you may meet medical students and junior doctors during your visit to the CF clinic – please let us know if you would prefer them not to attend for any reason.
We ask that you keep a record of your future appointments with us, and let us know with as much notice as possible if you are unable to attend – at least 72 hours’notice for routine appointments, and at least one week for an annual review. By cancelling your appointment ahead of time we will be able to offer the appointment to another person and ensure a smooth and efficient running of the service. Please email: rde-tr.exetercf@nhs.net
Thank you for your help with this.
Patients with cystic fibrosis may be admitted to hospital for a variety of reasons including:
For some this is a very rare occurrence and for others it may be a more regular event. One young person who requires regular treatment likes to see it as a ‘Spa treatment for my lungs’! During your stay we encourage you to take the opportunity to rest, sleep, eat and exercise, allowing us to support treatments when you are unwell and continue to support your education about any aspects of CF care during your stay.
If you do need to be admitted, please bring all your medication, physio and nebuliser equipment with you, together with a small supply of any supplements taken and feed – this avoids any break in treatments if they are not immediately available from pharmacy. Any medication will need to be handed over to the nursing staff and will be kept in a locked cupboard unless there are special circumstances.
Inpatient stays will be on Culm ward (East or West) on level 2. Occasionally for infection control reasons you may be looked after on another medical ward. All admissions will be in a single dedicated side room with single use toileting facilities, usually en-suite. During the stay you will be seen by members of the CF team on a daily basis from Monday-Friday, with physio input available over the weekend.
You will be advised on infection control measures relevant to your individual situation during your stay on the ward. Infection control is really important in keeping you and others safe so we encourage you to stay within your room, use good hand washing techniques and avoid chatting at the nurses desks.
Meals cards will be available during your admission.
A small fridge will be available in your room for storage of extra snacks.
Wi-Fi is now available throughout the trust.
We have introduced this to help ensure you make the most out of your inpatient stay and are clear on the conduct we expect from you when staying on the ward. Please click on the link to access Patient Code of Conduct.
We know that the vast majority of patients and families already adhere to these requests but the document is available for everyone to avoid confusion. If you would like to discuss any related issues please do not hesitate to contact the CF team or Ward Matron.
All patients with CF undergo a series of screening/monitoring investigations every year which are then discussed in a more detailed appointment called the Annual Review. At this appointment we assess progress over the previous year, screen for complications and pull all information together. This allows us to plan any future treatments or investigations for the forthcoming year. In some cases this may happen over a series of appointments.
Leading up to your annual review we will request the following:
The annual review appointment itself will be a longer appointment than usual so please allow extra time. We take this opportunity to review all aspects of care including any research trials you may be eligible for, microbiology results (germs on cough swabs/ sputum) and any infection control issues relevant to you, number of days of IV antibiotic treatment and financial support issues. You will of course have the opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns. A clear plan of management will be discussed with you based on this information.
The review of results, discussions and plan of care will be summarised in a letter and sent to you as soon as possible after the appointment. Health details are added anonymously, with your consent, to the national CF registry database as part of the National Audit of CF Centre Care.