From 1 April 2026 two new organisations are responsible for planning and overseeing local NHS services. If you live in Hertfordshire go to the Central East ICB website. If you live in west Essex go to the Essex ICB website. Find out more

Community respiratory services

Community respiratory services support people with conditions affecting their lungs including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, bronchiectasis and sleep apnoea. 

Services for people with respiratory (breathing) issues are provided by teams of specialist nurses and physiotherapists supported by respiratory consultants. They assess, treat, monitor, and review patients in their home or in community clinics.  

If you have one of these conditions, the service will work with you, and the people caring for you, to manage your condition so that you stay well and have a good quality of life. We want to prevent your condition from getting worse and avoid you needing to be admitted to hospital.  

You will usually be referred into a community respiratory service by your GP or specialist nurse or by a hospital specialist.  

The service provides personalised support according to your needs and is provided by different organisations across Hertfordshire and west Essex. The service you receive will depend on where you live. This can include: 

  • Support for patients coming out of hospital who need additional help when they go home.  
  • Home oxygen service, including assessment and review, for patients diagnosed with a long- term respiratory condition such as COPD who need oxygen therapy. 
  • Respiratory and pulmonary rehabilitation and support including pulmonary rehabilitation clinics run with input from hospital consultants and a pulmonary rehabilitation education and self-management programme for patients with chronic respiratory disease. 
  • Reviewing and managing medication to make sure that people are on the most effective medication for their needs.  

You can find out more about your local service in the relevant section below.

Community respiratory service in south and west Hertfordshire

The community respiratory service in south and west Hertfordshire is provided by Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) together with West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Visit the CLCH website for more information

Community respiratory service in east and north Hertfordshire

The community respiratory service in east and north Hertfordshire is provided by Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT) together with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.

Visit the HCT website for more information

Community respiratory service in west Essex

The community respiratory service in west Essex is provided by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT).

Visit the EPUT website for more information
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