About our Services

What is spirometry?

Spirometry is a breathing test that measures how much air you breathe in and out and how forcefully you breathe. You’ll be seated, hold a mouthpiece, and blow into a machine as hard and fast as you can until your lungs are empty. This is repeated at least three times.

Reversibility test (about 35 minutes)

Depending on your results and the reason for referral, you may be given a bronchodilator (often a blue salbutamol inhaler). After waiting 15 minutes, the tests are repeated.

FeNO test

You may also be offered a fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) test — a simple blowing test (about a minute) to check inflammation in your airways.

Before your appointment

• Avoid alcohol: 24 hours before.
• Avoid smoking: 12 hours before.
• Avoid certain foods (12 hours before): rocket, spinach, lettuce, radish, beetroot, Chinese cabbage, turnips, cabbage, green beans, leek, spring onion, cucumber, carrot, potato, garlic, sweet pepper, green pepper.
• On the day (1 hour before): avoid eating, drinking, smoking and exercise.

Bring with you

• A bottle of water.
• Any inhalers you use and your spacer/aerochamber.
• If you’ve never been prescribed a salbutamol inhaler, please contact your GP to arrange one for this appointment.

Medicines to pause (if you can)

If you take regular inhalers/medicines for breathing, bring them with you but try not to use them for the times below. If you need relief sooner, please use them and tell the nurse at the start.

• Relievers (Salbutamol, Terbutaline): 4–8 hours
• Short-acting anticholinergics (Atrovent): 6 hours
• Long-acting relievers (Salmeterol, Formoterol, Seretide, Symbicort, Fostair, Relvar): 12 hours
• Long-acting anticholinergics (Spiriva, Incruse, Eklira, Anoro, Braltus, Tiotropium): 24 hours
• Long-acting oral bronchodilators (theophylline): 24 hours

During the test

The test isn’t painful, but some people find it uncomfortable. Please tell us at any time if you feel unwell.

Risks and when to tell us

The test is very low risk, but because it needs maximum effort, please inform the nurse before starting if you have:

• Uncontrolled high blood pressure or angina
• Recent heart attack or stroke
• A collapsed lung (pneumothorax)
• Recent coughing up blood of unknown cause
• Chest, abdominal or cerebral aneurysm
• Any recent operations (including chest, abdominal or eye surgery)
• An ear infection

You may feel light-headed briefly after attempts; some people feel shaky after an inhaler — this is common and settles quickly. Rarely, people may faint or feel nauseous.

After the test

You can go home and resume normal activities straight away and restart your inhalers as normal.

Results

The nurse may discuss results with you after the test. Otherwise, results are sent to your GP and should be available within 14 days.

Questions or changes

For queries before the test, please contact your usual GP surgery (they can forward questions to the Community Respiratory Team). If you cannot attend, contact the PCN respiratory team on 01305 234090.

What is a Structured Medication Review?

A Structured Medication Review is a private discussion between you and a clinical pharmacist. The goal is to ensure that your prescribed medications are the most suitable for you and optimised for effectiveness. Depending on your medicines, tests or monitoring (e.g. blood pressure checks or blood tests) may be arranged. You can discuss how you’re getting on and raise any concerns. If changes are needed, they will be proposed and approved by your GP with your agreement, and the review will be recorded in your medical notes.

How to prepare

• Make a list of all medicines you take (prescribed, over-the-counter, herbal, vitamins), including any you’ve stopped.
• Write down questions you want to ask, for example:
  • Why is this medicine important?
  • When and how should I take it? For how long?
  • How will I know it’s working?
  • What if I have problems or miss a dose?
  • Are there foods or other medicines I should avoid with it?

After your review

• Your usual GP is informed of any agreed changes.
• Any tests or referrals that are needed will be arranged.
• Sometimes a follow-up appointment is required to cover everything.

Overview

Ageing Well Clinics run at Portland Community Hospital (Portland) and Lynch Lane offices (Weymouth). People invited may have frailty, limited mobility, falls risk, or recurrent admissions; it can also include those with long-term conditions such as respiratory disease or diabetes.

Goals

Improve wellbeing and independence, reduce falls risk, optimise medicines and reduce the chance of hospital admission.

What to expect

The clinic is around 2 hours. You’ll move through stations to meet different professionals, for example:

• Therapist (Occupational Therapist and/or Physiotherapist)
• Specialist Frailty Nurse / Nurse Practitioner
• Social Prescriber
• Care Coordinator

Please complete and bring the pre-clinic questionnaire if you’ve been sent one.

External links (open in new tab)

• A guide to good nutrition and hydration in older age (BDA, PDF)
• Practical guide to healthy ageing (NHS England)
• How to age well: top tips for healthy ageing (Age UK)
• Staying strong as you age – strength exercises (CSP)
• “Make Your Move” exercise videos (YouTube playlist)
• Live Well Dorset
• Make Movement Your Mission (short exercise videos)

For professionals

• BGS Frailty Hub – Introduction to frailty
• CGA Toolkit – Frailty
• NICE: Improving care and support for people with frailty
• NHS England: Ageing well and supporting people living with frailty
• Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (PDF)
• What to expect at an Ageing Well exercise class (YouTube)

WECS = Weymouth and Portland Frailty Service.

Overview

Established in April 2015 and led by Dr Laura Godfrey (GP and PCN Clinical Director), the Weymouth and Portland Frailty Service (WECS) supports residents in Residential and Nursing Homes and housebound people across Weymouth and Portland. WECS also supports the Ageing Well Clinics. The team provides proactive, comprehensive assessments, monitors long‑term conditions, works with patients and families to complete personalised care and support plans using the Dorset Care Plan (including end of life planning where appropriate), and works closely with MUCS for urgent visits.

Residential and Nursing Homes

Each care home has a named WECS clinician and is linked to a specific GP surgery. Homes receive a weekly visit from their named clinician, with cover provided during leave by another member of the team. To contact the WECS team for a particular home, please get in touch via the linked GP surgery.

Housebound patients

People who are frail or at risk of frailty can be referred for a comprehensive geriatric assessment, looking at health, medicines, falls risk, nutrition, and care priorities. Visits are usually by Frailty Practitioners; complex cases may involve Dr Nick Luscombe, Dr Elizabeth Jones, or Dr Laura Godfrey. Frailty Assistants in the team visit to complete specific tasks, e.g. blood pressure monitoring and weight monitoring. The aim is to help maintain wellbeing, reduce the risk of hospital admissions, and support people to remain at home, while focusing on what matters most to them. Personalised care and support planning is a key part of this.