Barry Nelson reports on how former miners who are making claims for lung damage can be assessed for compensation.

SPIROMETERS have been in the news recently because of proposed changes to respiratory disease compensation for former miners.

The calibrated devices are widely used by doctors and nurses to test for the presence of a serious condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Following a High Court ruling by Sir Michael Turner last week, thousands of ex-miners are due to receive faster payments for lung damage. Initial offers to living ex-miners will be based on the outcome of a spirometer test carried out by a respiratory technician and the amount offered to each individual will reflect the average of what earlier claimants have received.

Under the new arrangements, each living claimant will retain the right to have a full medical examination by a chest specialist, known as a MAP, though not every claimant will receive compensation.

The Department of Trade and Industry is currently working out a banded "tariff" system of payments, which will have to be accepted by the claimants' solicitors.

Asked how claimants are assessed for compensation, a DTI spokesman says: "A spirometer measures how much air can be blown out of the lungs after a deep breath in, and also measures how quickly the air is being blown out. Spirometer measurements are internationally recognised as being the standard way of investigating people to see whether they may have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

"It has been recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence that soon all GP surgeries should have spirometers, because this is the best way of screening people to pick up the early signs of COPD. In somebody who is developing COPD, measurements with a spirometer will often be abnormal even before the person notices any breathlessness, allowing the diagnosis to be made at the earliest possible stage.

"The benefit of spirometry is that it is a simple test which enables rapid answers to be obtained for a large number of people. It can also give helpful information about whether other factors, such as being overweight, are contributing to breathlessness, enabling the person to take steps to improve their health. It cannot identify some rarer lung conditions, nor will it show when the breathlessness is actually due to heart problems, but spirometry is very good at identifying the presence of COPD."

During a typical MAP medical, the individual will have breathing tests (including spirometry) performed, says the spokesman. He will then talk to a lung specialist, who will usually have all his medical records, who will ask questions about past health, breathing problems and also about smoking. The specialist will then carry out a medical examination.

The worse the spirometry measurements, the more severe the COPD, and - on average - the greater the person's disability will be.