Dr Chris Barber

Dr Christopher Michael Barber is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Northern General Hospital, an Honorary Reader in Respiratory Medicine (University of Sheffield) and Principal Medical Adviser to the Health and Safety Executive, Buxton.

His main current areas of research interest, carried out at the health and safety laboratory in Buxton, include the national/international approach to the diagnosis/management of occupational lung disease, particularly occupational asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and silicosis. He has specialist recognition in Respiratory and General Medicine from the GMC, and the AFOM, a postgraduate qualification in clinical and research aspects of occupational respiratory and non-respiratory disorders.

Dr Barber has weekly occupational and interstitial respiratory outpatient clinics, dealing with all aspects of occupational asthma, COPD, asbestos-related lung disease, silicosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. These clinics act as regional referral centres for the most complex occupational and interstitial lung disease cases, and the unit has the full range of diagnostic facilities required for such patients.

Dr Barber qualified in Medicine from Nottingham University in 1993 and proceeded to train in respiratory and general medicine in Trent and the North West. In addition, he spent two years as a research fellow at HSL dedicated to research into occupational lung disease which led to an MD thesis related to cough in workers exposed to bakery dusts. Dr Barber has a particular interest in post-graduate medical education and has developed e-learning modules on occupational asthma for BMJ Learning (for GPs) and the British Thoracic Society (for respiratory trainees). He is the co-organiser of the British Thoracic Society occupational lung disease short course, and current chair of the Occupational and Environmental Specialist Advisery Group. He is also a core reporter to and sits on the advisory committee for SWORD - a national surveillance scheme for occupational lung disease. He is also is a member of GORDS - a national group of experts in occupational lung disease.

Diseases, Medical Tests and Treatments

• Telephone consultation
• Serial peak flow testing
• Lung function testing
• Inhaled allergen testing
• Asbestos Related Lung Disease
• Asthma
• Breathlessness
• Chronic Cough
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
• Occupational Lung Disease
• Pneumoconiosis
• Silicosis