What Is a Respiratory Consultation?

A respiratory consultation is a comprehensive, specialist-led appointment dedicated to assessing, diagnosing and managing conditions that affect your lungs and breathing. At LivingCare in Leeds it brings together focused clinical expertise, unhurried time, and access to diagnostic tests that may not be readily available in a standard GP or urgent care setting.

Many respiratory symptoms - breathlessness, a persistent cough, wheezing or recurrent chest infections - go under-investigated or are attributed to other causes for months, sometimes years, before a clear diagnosis is reached. A specialist consultation is where that gets untangled.

Our respiratory consultants bring extensive NHS and private practice experience to every appointment. They take a careful, unhurried approach - listening to your symptoms, reviewing your history and existing results, and arranging any further investigations needed to reach an accurate diagnosis. This is part of our wider Respiratory Medicine department in Leeds.

What Conditions Can Be Assessed?

Our respiratory consultants assess and manage the full range of lung and breathing conditions, including:

• Asthma - a common inflammatory condition of the airways causing wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing. A private consultation allows for thorough assessment and accurate diagnosis, including FeNO testing, and a personalised management plan¹.
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) - a progressive lung condition, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, most often linked to smoking. Early diagnosis and optimised management can slow progression and improve day-to-day quality of life².
• Chronic cough - a cough lasting more than three weeks without an obvious cause. Our consultants systematically explore the reasons, from asthma and reflux to medication effects and rarer conditions, and advise on treatment.
• Breathlessness - unexplained or worsening shortness of breath, whether at rest, on exertion or at night, needs careful assessment to identify a cause that may be respiratory, cardiac or systemic.
• Interstitial lung disease and pulmonary fibrosis - conditions causing progressive scarring of the lung tissue, where early, accurate diagnosis is important for guiding management.
• Bronchiectasis - a long-term condition in which the airways widen and scar, making them prone to mucus build-up and recurrent infection.
• Sleep apnoea - a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, causing poor sleep, daytime fatigue and, if untreated, longer-term cardiovascular risk. Assessment can include advice on CPAP therapy³.
• Long COVID - prolonged respiratory symptoms after COVID-19, including breathlessness, cough, fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance, which need specialist evaluation.
• Tuberculosis (TB) - suspected or confirmed TB requiring specialist assessment, investigation and coordinated follow-up.
• Suspected lung cancer - concerning symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, a persistent cough, coughing up blood, or a suspicious scan result, which warrant rapid, systematic review and onward referral where needed.

What to Expect at Your Appointment

Before your appointment - no specific preparation is required. Please bring a list of your current medications, any relevant letters from your GP or hospital, and the results of any recent tests, scans or X-rays. If you keep a peak flow diary, bring that too.

During your appointment - your consultant takes a thorough history covering your symptoms, their onset and progression, your medical background, your occupation and relevant lifestyle factors, including smoking history. A physical examination of your chest and breathing follows. Your consultant then discusses their initial assessment and advises on any further tests that may be needed, which can include lung function testing, FeNO measurement, imaging or blood tests.

After your appointment - you receive a written report summarising the consultation, the findings and the recommended next steps, and this is sent to your GP with your consent. If further investigations are arranged, your consultant reviews the results and contacts you promptly to discuss them and any changes to your plan.

Risks and Considerations

A respiratory consultation is a low-risk, non-invasive appointment, and the consultation itself carries no physical risk. Where further investigations are recommended afterwards - such as bronchoscopy, CT scanning or a sleep study - your consultant explains what each involves, and any associated risks, before you agree to proceed.

Why Choose LivingCare for Respiratory Care in Leeds

Exceptional care, without the wait. At our Thorpe Park clinic in Leeds, you can see a specialist respiratory consultant quickly, with no GP referral needed and the choice of self-pay or insurance. You get an unhurried appointment, a clear explanation of what is going on, and a plan you can act on - rather than months of uncertainty.

Our consultants bring extensive NHS and private practice experience. Where a diagnosis needs supporting tests, those can often be arranged as part of your care, keeping everything under one respiratory team in Leeds.

Book your consultation at our Leeds clinic.

References

1. NHS - Asthma
2. NHS - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
3. NHS - Sleep apnoea
4. NICE - Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management (NG245)