PATIENTS who suffer from a serious sleep disorder are expected to get the treatment they need after a decision to expand services on the NHS.

Most patients in the North-East who need specialist treatment called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) to treat a condition known as sleep apnoea get the equipment they need on the NHS.

But Professor John Gibson, head of respiratory medicine at Newcastle University, who looks after about 2,500 sleep apnoea patients, said more resources need to be invested in diagnosing the condition in the hundreds of people who are unaware they have it.

He hoped that following yesterday's decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to recommend CPAP treatment for sleep apnoea sufferers throughout England, it would lead to increased funding for diagnosis and treatment in the North-East.

CPAP involves the patient wearing a soft mask over their nose and mouth attached to a machine that regulates the pressure of the air they breath, preventing the airway from collapsing during sleep.

Prof Gibson said: "I have never had a problem getting CPAP equipment for my patients on the NHS, the problem is providing the facilities and the staffing levels to cope with the increasing demand for investigation."

Sleep apnoea is regularly implicated in fatal road traffic accidents when sufferers have fallen asleep at the wheel of a car.

People with obstructive sleep apnoea have irregular breathing at night and are excessively sleepy during the day.

Their upper airway, or pharynx, collapses repeatedly and at regular intervals as they sleep, cutting off the airflow to the lungs.

Sufferers may wake up hundreds of times a night, but remember nothing.

Referrals from GPs in the North-East are increasing, partly due to the region's high levels of obesity, which is often linked to the condition.

Prof Gibson said in response to this increased demand, sleep services had been set up in recent years in hospitals in Middlesbrough, Darlington, Durham and Sunderland.

"In some parts of the country, people have had to buy CPAP themselves. We reckon half the hospitals in the country have no sleep service or are unable to provide diagnostic facilities," he added.

Prof Gibson said sleep apnoea affects about one in 100 people, but only one-in-four have been diagnosed.

"It leads to sleep deprivation, which can cause accidents, wreck marriages and cause people to lose their jobs," he added.