Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on referral processes to a regional Occupational lung disease service – a single centre experience

ABSTRACT

P76 Figure 1ConclusionDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, we identified a 40% drop in referrals between 2019 and 2021, including a substantial reduction in referrals from workplace based occupational healthcare providers and primary care. Similarly, we diagnosed half as many patients with airway diseases, including occupational asthma.Our observations are in line with the experience of other regional OLD services, and are most likely explained by workers being furloughed or working from home, thereby removing harmful workplace exposures;or the cessation of routine workplace surveillance and community spirometry. British Thoracic Society has recently published a clinical statement on occupational asthma which reiterates that delayed diagnosis of occupational asthma has a poorer prognosis, so it is crucial that we ensure patients with suspected occupational asthma are referred early.