Nurse specialist led sleep pathway is clinically effective and cost effective compared to a pathway delivered by consultants

Introduction Professionals other than Physicians are commonly employed to evaluate patients with possible sleep apnoeas worldwide, but less so in the UK. This study evaluates a novel Nurse Specialist led sleep diagnostic pathway.

A sample of patients treated in the novel, Nurse led, pathway were compared to a group treated in a more conventional, Consultant led, setting.

The use of a Nurse led pathway significantly reduced time from referral to CPAP set up (56 days) compared to the Consultant led pathway (213.5 days) with comparable outcomes in terms of CPAP compliance and symptom improvement.

The use of a Nurse led sleep diagnostic pathway significantly reduces waiting times, whilst maintaining appropriate clinical standards. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Audit and Research department of Mid and South Essex NHS Trust have waived ethical approval for this work. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Data Availability All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript