Make treatment for Sleep Apnoea available to all NHS Patients.

CPAP treatment should be made available to all NHS patients who require it.

Untreated Sleep Apnoea results in sleep deprivation which can have serious effects on the patients’ health and is commonly linked with high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome.

NICE guidelines recommend that CPAP is the gold standard treatment for Sleep Apnoea; however it is a "postcode lottery" as to whether a patient will actually receive this treatment.

Untreated sleep apnoea can inhibit a person’s life to the point of disablement. Fatigue, memory loss, susceptibility to virus, depression and lack of concentration impair a person’s ability to hold down a job, drive, shop and generally function. It also makes those who depend on driving as their job more reluctant to seek diagnosis as until they are treated they will lose their livelihood. This in turn increases the risk of serious road accidents caused by sleep deprived drivers.

CPAP can normally counteract all of the health problems associated with Sleep Apnoea which is why this treatment needs to be made available to all patients with this condition in all areas of the UK.