HealthInfo Canterbury
Sleep assessment
Whakamātaunga moenga
If your doctor thinks you have obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or another sleep disorder, they may recommend that you have a sleep assessment.
- Some general practices in Canterbury are trained to provide sleep assessments. If your general practice isn't an approved provider, they can refer you another general practice for a subsidised sleep assessment.
- Christchurch Hospital's Sleep Health Services and the Ashburton Hospital Outpatient Department also provide more complex sleep assessments.
- You may prefer to pay to see a private sleep clinic.
A sleep assessment takes around half an hour. If you qualify, the cost is subsidised by Te Whatu Ora.
Getting a sleep assessment
A sleep assessment involves several tests, including:
- measuring your body mass index and neck circumference
- checking your blood pressure
- examining your mouth and nose
- testing to see how well you can breathe through your nose
- checking for related health problems, such as heart or lung disease.
The person doing the assessment will ask you questions about your sleep, your lifestyle and daily routine, what you normally eat and drink, your job, your family history and what medications you take. This is to give the assessor a better idea of what might be affecting your sleep and how badly your sleep is affecting your lifestyle.
They may ask you to complete two questionnaires.
- The Berlin questionnaire is used to assess your risk of having OSA.
- The Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) questionnaire is used to assess your daytime sleepiness.
The questionnaire results will be filed with your sleep assessment documentation and looked at by Christchurch Hospital's Sleep Health Services when they review your sleep assessment report.
You may be asked to undergo an overnight oximetry test. You'll be given an oximeter to take home and wear while you sleep. On the night of the study, you'll need to keep a sleep diary (this also includes instructions for using the oximeter). Return the oximeter and diary to the assessor the next day. The results will be included in the sleep assessment report.
After a sleep assessment
The assessor will send the completed report and documents to Christchurch Hospital's Sleep Health Services who will review it. They'll send a report back to your general practice team. This will determine if you have OSA or another sleep disorder, and what type of treatment (if any) should be tried.
- If you don't have OSA, you may need to see your general practice team to check for other problems or for advice to manage your symptoms.
- If you have OSA and you meet treatment criteria, you may be offered treatment through Christchurch Hospital's Sleep Health Services.
- If you have OSA but don't meet the treatment criteria, your general practice team will manage your care and treatment.
- If your diagnosis is uncertain, you may need more tests.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed October 2022.
SourcesReview key: HIOSA-12505
