Irem Patel PhD

Dr Irem Patel trained in respiratory and general medicine in London. Her postgraduate research focused on mechanisms of COPD exacerbations, working closely with COPD patients in East London.Her specialist interests are airways disease, respiratory infection and respiratory failure. Towards the end of her training she became increasingly interested in healthcare delivery for long term respiratory disease and the concept of bringing specialist care closer to the patient. Dr Patel now works as an integrated 5/5 respiratory physician within Kings Health Partners (KHP) and Lambeth and Southwark CCG. She leads a multidisciplinary integrated respiratory team (IRT) working across two acute hospitals and the community delivering COPD, asthma, oxygen, pulmonary rehabilitation and supported discharge services for a local population of around 600,000 people.The KHP integrated respiratory team runs a 7 day service, and Monday morning begins in the hospital.

On Monday and Thursday mornings Dr Patel leads specialist respiratory in-reach ward rounds on the acute medical unit, while the afternoons are spent in respiratory virtual clinics around Lambeth and Southwark, reviewing up to 30 respiratory cases at a time with primary care teams and a respiratory pharmacist. Medical students on her firm also attend these sessions. Dr Patel knows most of her local GP and practice nurse colleagues by name and keeps in regular email contact with them. On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings she leads the IRT and Pulmonary Rehabilitation MDT at two acute hospitals with secondary care based outpatient clinics on those afternoons. Once a month she attends an MDT with the IRT and a consultant clinical psychologist. She is the BTS Stop Smoking champion for the Trust and chairs the hospital Smoke Free Strategy Group once a month.