Sleep Laboratory 

From 1995 to Sept 2005, Dr Allen's rooms were located at St. Andrews Place, in October 2005 Dr Allen relocated his rooms to The Wesley Medical Centre. He is a Consultant Thoracic and Sleep Physician. He sees a wide range of patients with sleep disorders, including sleep apnoea, periodic leg movement disorder, insomnia, narcolepsy, idiopathic CNS hypersomnia and has done many medico-legal reports on patients with a range of these disorders.

Dr Allen prefers to be an independent broker in sleep work, as this allows him to choose laboratories which suit your budget and are of a high standard and as close as possible to you. He has no financial interest in any sleep laboratory, unlike the majority of sleep physicians in this country. He only refers patients to sleep laboratories which produce consistently high quality work as sleep laboratories vary considerably in the quality of their work, their courtesy to patients and fees. Dearest is not necessarily the best, but some budget sleep laboratories have dubious standards and as a result sleep studies often may need to be repeated in better laboratories. As the sleep "scene" is undergoing constant change, this independence provides you with an optimal result.

Not all sleep laboratories provide the essential backup you require during daylight hours, such as patient education and trouble-shooting with treatment difficulties, general enquiries such as with CPAP masks and pumps. Such support costs money but is an essential part of the function of a sleep laboratory. Unfortunately this is not provided by many "budget" sleep laboratories.

Bed and equipment		Bathroom		TV-equipped
Magazines		Shower facilities		Sleep Lab Monitors

The photographs above are an example of a sleep laboratory (St Andrew's Place Sleep Laboratory, Spring Hill, Brisbane) and it is shown to indicate the type of facilities you may expect in any sleep laboratory. Some laboratories are located in private hospitals, which may add to the costs, depending on your insurance cover. For those patients without health insurance, there are some laboratories in Brisbane, such as the St Andrew's Place Sleep Laboratory or the River City Sleep Laboratory have some bulk billed facilities. However your insurance company may not cover the bed cost ironically if you are insured. That is why Dr Allen will do his best to provide you with the best deal.

It is also possible to do home monitoring of patients for investigation of sleep apnoea. As technology improves, this will become an increasingly attractive option and it is likely that the current practice of sleep laboratories will be modified by such innovations.

If you have any questions about Dr Allen's practice, sleep laboratories or his websites, please contact his staff at The Wesley Medical Centre, Auchenflower, Brisbane.

For patients coming from out of town, there is a range of accommodation in the Auchenflower/Milton area, varying from budget to five star, which should prove attractive. If you are coming from out of town, it may be preferable for your general practitioner to contact Dr Allen well in advance so a sleep study can be booked the evening that you see Dr Allen. You can then be reviewed the next morning, in most cases, to review the sleep study. If there is significant sleep apnoea found on the initial diagnostic sleep study, a second study is usually required soon after and ideally, the next night if you are coming from out of town, where a CPAP mask and pump can be trialed and so that you can start treatment as soon as possible.

The diagnosis of sleep apnoea has legal implications in terms of driving, flying etc and the handling of machinery, you should be aware of your legal responsibilities, as failure to do so may result in significant penalties in the event of an accident. This legal "minefield" is under constant review and is in a state of flux. There is no national uniformity in this area which also confounds matters. However, caution is advised if you suspect you have sleep apnoea and particularly if you are feeling sleepy on driving.

The Epworth Sleep Questionnaire is a useful questionnaire, which may help determine whether you are unduly sleepy during the day. However, this by itself does not rule out sleep apnoea if the score is low. Other factors also to be considered are shift work and sleep deprivation due to a range of other factors, such as excessive workloads.

Sleep laboratories investigations

Polysomnography - Assesses overnight brain activity, muscle tone, eye movements, chest and abdominal movements related to breathing, oral or nasal airflow, heart rate and oxygenation.

Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) - Quantifies daytime sleepiness by offering 4 - 5 opportunities when the subject is asked to try to fall asleep during the day at 2-hour intervals.

Maintenance of Wakefulness Test - As in the MSLT, the subject is given repeated opportunities of quiet, but asked to try to stay awake.

Sleep Laboratories used by Dr Roger Allen
 
River City Sleep Laboratory
Level 4, River City Private Hospital
Cnr Wienholt St and Milton Rd
Auchenflower, Qld 4066
Ph: (07) 3870 4192
Fax: (07) 3217 8190

St. Andrews Place Sleep Centre
Suite 312, Level 2
St. Andrews Place
33 North St
Brisbane, Qld 4000

Greenslopes Sleeep Centre
Newdegate St
Greenslopes, Qld 4120