Sleep Disorder service

The East Sussex sleep disorder service at Conquest Hospital mainly serves the population of the South East of England

Its staff are led by Dr Simon Merritt, BSc (Hons), MBBS, MRCP, Consultant in Respiratory, General and Sleep Medicine.  This team has been commended for their innovative and dedicated work in this developing field.

Referrals are usually through the electronic referral service but if no appointments are available, paper referrals are accepted and additional clinics are put in place to meet waiting times. This is a single sited service and referrals are taken from throughout the county and out of area.

The Sleep Unit performs, on average, approximately 900 Sleep Studies per year, 250 Paediatric overnight Oximetry studies and supplies around 600 CPAP treatments.

The Trust is committed to this service, which has been running since 1994.

Sleep Unit Opening Times

Monday to Friday – 8am to 4pm

Lunchtime – 12.30pm to 1pm

Saturday/Sunday/Bank holidays – Closed

All enquiries – Tel: 0300 131 4606

Please click here for details of drop-in clinics>>

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Referrals come directly from General Practioners (GPs), (but are often filtered through Respiratory or Cardio Vascular Consultants, Sleep Physician and ENT Surgeons, Psychiatrists and Neurologists).

Please note that we are unable to accept self-referrals. Referrals from out of the area are welcome and both Consultants see all sleep disorders, except insomnia.

Following an agreement with the local CCG, the Sleep Disorders Unit can also accept internal referrals from other clinician’s, within the Trust. Letters should be sent to the Sleep Disorders Clinic and copied to the original referring GP and contain the phrase ‘Unless vetoed by Primary Care’.

It will then be up to the GP to contact the clinic, if the referral is to be refused. There may, of course, be a very valid reason for this, such as a referral already previously made to a different sleep centre.

The referral, once received, will be treated as a new GP referral.

  • Sleep Apnoea
  • Narcolepsy
  • Snoring with Sleepiness
  • Restless Leg Syndrome
  • Parasomnias
  • REM sleep behaviour disorder
  • Circadian Rhythm Disorders
  • Idiopathic Hypersomnolence
  • Respiratory Sleep Studies with Periodic Limb Sensors
  • Respiratory Domiciliary Sleep Studies
  • Full Polysomnography
  • Multiple Sleep Latency Testing
  • Maintenance Wakefulness Test
  • Actigraphy
  • CPAP
  • Home Oximetry for Adult or Paediatrics
  • Sleep Positional Training

We also have close links with our colleagues in:

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Do I need to inform DVLA if I have Sleep Apnoea?

Actually you do If you have:

  • Obstructive Sleep Apnoea which effects your ability to drive safely
  • If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (Sleep apnoea with sleepiness)

However, once the sleepiness has been successfully treated, there is no reason why you may not still hold a Category 1 (car) or Category 2 (HGV/Bus or Coach licence.

The DVLA will check with us periodically that your sleepiness remains treated annually (for category 2 licence holders only). As long as we are satisfied that you are no longer sleepy and that you are using your treatment properly, we will be happy to confirm to DVLA that we see no reason why your licence should not be continued.

Any referral for a professional driver/commercial driver, ie HGV, PSV or Taxi driver, should be marked as URGENT as we can fast track a sleep study to treatment.

Please note that we have treated many commercial drivers who received their treatment the day after their sleep study, so work is not interrupted but if you are concerned, please call the unit and ask to speak to the Manager, for an informal chat.

please visit:

or write to:

Drivers Medical Branch
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1TU

0870 600 0301

Team

Dr Simon Merritt
Consultant and Lead Clinician in Sleep Medicine
Mr Wilf Kesse
Consultant in ENT and Somnologist
Dr Nik Gkampranis
Consultant in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine
Terri Whiteman
Department Manager and Lead Sleep Technologist
Sue Lawrence
Service Coordinator
Clare Lancaster
Medical Secretary to Sleep Unit

We provide this service at

Conquest Hospital

The Ridge, St Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex, TN37 7RD
0300 131 4500