Welcome to the sleep clinic
The Birmingham Heartlands hospital sleep clinic is run by Dr Dev Banerjee (Consultant respiratory and sleep physician). It was set up more than 20 years ago by Dr Ruth Cayton (retired 2004). Dr Dev Banerjee has been a consultant at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital since 2004. It is one of the largest sleep units in the UK with over 1400 new referrals from across the region; from Shropshire to Northamptonshire and from North Staffordshire to Gloucestershire. The clinic runs up to three times per week.
Patients can be referred by the GP or by their hospital specialist. The waiting times are a few weeks and most are seen in clinic by this time. All patients will be welcomed by the clinic clerk with confirmation of name and address. You will have your weight and height checked by the clinic nurse. New patients will fill in a routine questionnaire, asking about sleep, snoring and other health issues. Those on therapy for sleep apnoea will also fill in a shorter simpler questionnaire. Once done the doctor of the clinic will call you in. All patients are discussed with the consultant (Dev Banerjee) but not everyone will be seen by him.
In the clinic there will be two or three other sleep doctors and a clinical physiologist with a technical interest in CPAP (continous positive airway pressure) therapy. The clinic can be busy at times and we all appreciate your patience. However, we can assure you that once you are called in, you will be guaranteed quality time. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you have for us. We regard our clinic as being a happy and friendly one with a relaxed atmosphere aiming to address all your enquiries about sleep and providing a quality service.
The clinic looks after all sleep disorders, primarily obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) but also specialises in narcolepsy, sleep behaviour disorder such as sleepwalking and "things that go bump in the night", restless legs and leg movements, insomnia (although it lacks the clinical psychologist input - it has close links elsewhere). The clinic runs an active research program improving the wellbeing of all those with sleep problems. Therefore we may ask if you are willing to provide information about yourself that may assist us in clinical trials and enhance better therapies for the future. All data are kept confidentially and are under the supervision of local ethics committees