Editorial Policy | Exeter Sleep Clinic

This policy explains how the health information on the Exeter Sleep Clinic website is written, checked and kept up to date. It covers our pages on insomnia, sleep apnoea, snoring, restless legs syndrome and sleep studies, our FAQs, and any guides we publish.

It doesn’t cover the advice you receive after completing our sleep assessment. That is clinical care, given to you personally by a UK-registered clinician, and it’s described in our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Why we publish

Poor sleep is common, and the information about it online is often confusing, alarmist, or selling something. Many people who search for a sleep study in Exeter don’t need one. Many who think they have insomnia are actually waking because of their breathing. We publish to help you understand what’s likely going on, what a sensible next step looks like, and when you should see your GP or seek urgent help instead.

Our content principles

Everything we publish should be:

Clinically accurate – written or reviewed by a UK-registered clinician with experience in sleep medicine.
Evidence-based – grounded in current UK guidance and peer-reviewed research, not opinion or anecdote.
Plain English – terms like OSA, CBT-I and CPAP are explained the first time they appear, in short sentences under clear headings.
Honest about limits – clear on what a screening assessment can and can’t tell you, and that our pages don’t diagnose.
Safe – every page says when a symptom needs your GP, NHS 111 or 999 rather than an online assessment.
Balanced – open about the drawbacks of treatments as well as the benefits, and about when the NHS is the better route.
Independent – not paid for or influenced by pharmaceutical companies or device manufacturers.

Who writes and reviews our content

Our condition pages are written by, or with, clinicians who have worked in NHS sleep and respiratory medicine. Our reviewers include clinical physiologists registered with the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) and certified as Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGT).

Every condition page shows who wrote it, who medically reviewed it, their professional registrations, and the date of that review, so you can see who is behind what you’re reading. We don’t publish clinical content anonymously.

The evidence we use

When we write about a condition or a treatment, we start from:

NICE guidance – including its recommendations on obstructive sleep apnoea and on managing insomnia.
NHS information and guidance from UK professional bodies such as the British Thoracic Society and the British Sleep Society.
Peer-reviewed research in sleep medicine, giving more weight to systematic reviews and large trials than to single small studies.
MHRA licensing and safety information for any medicine we mention.
Validated screening tools – our assessment uses instruments such as STOP-Bang for sleep apnoea and the Insomnia Severity Index, and our pages describe what those tools can and can’t tell you.

Where evidence is mixed or still emerging, as it often is in sleep medicine, we say so rather than overstate it.

Keeping content accurate and current

Sleep medicine moves. Guidelines are updated, new medicines are licensed, and advice on who should have a sleep study changes. To keep up:

Every condition page carries a “medically reviewed” date, and we review each one at least every 12 months.
We review sooner when NICE guidance changes, when the MHRA issues new advice about a medicine we mention, or when a treatment we describe becomes available or unavailable.
When a reader, patient or clinician tells us something is wrong or out of date, we check it and correct the page.

Plain English, for everyone

Sleep problems affect people of every age and background, usually when they’re exhausted. So we write for someone reading on a phone at 3am:

Short sentences, clear headings, and an outline on every page so you can jump to the part you need.
Medical terms explained the first time they appear: obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
UK spelling, UK guidance and UK routes to care, including the NHS.
Tables and lists for comparisons, so you can find the row that applies to you.
Pages built to work with screen readers and keyboard navigation, and we keep improving on that.

Safety comes first

Some symptoms shouldn’t wait for an online assessment, and our content is written so you never miss that:

Every page says clearly when to call 999, contact NHS 111 or see your GP – for example sudden severe sleepiness that makes it unsafe to drive, episodes of collapse, new neurological symptoms, or thoughts of harming yourself.
We describe our assessment for what it is: a clinician-reviewed screening tool. It doesn’t diagnose, and neither do our pages.
We’re clear that medication is only ever prescribed after a clinician has reviewed your assessment and judged it appropriate, and that not everyone will be eligible for prescription treatment or home sleep testing.

Balanced, and honest about treatment

We’re a private clinic, and we’re careful that this never shapes what we tell you:

We explain first-line, evidence-based options before anything else – CBT-I for insomnia, for example, rather than sleeping tablets.
We say plainly when a sleep study isn’t needed, when snoring isn’t sleep apnoea, and when the NHS is the right route for you, including what to ask your GP for.
We describe the drawbacks of treatments as well as the benefits, including CPAP.
Patient quotes are published only with the patient’s consent. They describe one person’s experience and aren’t a promise of what you’ll experience.
We don’t use fear or exaggerated claims to push you towards a decision.

Commercial independence

Exeter Sleep Clinic doesn’t accept payment from pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers or anyone else to write about a product, and we don’t publish sponsored content.
Where a page names a medicine, it’s to explain what it is and who it may or may not suit. We don’t advertise prescription-only medicines to the public, and any decision to prescribe is made only by a clinician after assessment.
If we ever have a commercial relationship relevant to something we publish, we’ll say so on the page.

How a page gets published

Brief – we decide what the page needs to answer, starting from the questions patients ask us and the guidance that applies.
Research – we gather the current guidance and evidence listed above.
Draft – a writer produces a first draft in plain English.
Editorial review – an editor checks it for clarity, structure and tone, and that it says clearly when to seek urgent help.
Clinical review – a UK-registered clinician checks it for accuracy and safety, and either signs it off or sends it back.
Publication – the page goes live showing its author, reviewer and review date.
Scheduled review – the page is reviewed at least every 12 months, or sooner if the guidance changes.

Tell us if something’s wrong

If you spot something that’s out of date, unclear or incorrect, we’d like to know. Please contact us and tell us which page and what you noticed. We check every report and correct pages where needed.

Contacting us about our content doesn’t create a clinical relationship between you and Exeter Sleep Clinic. If you’re worried about your sleep, start with our sleep assessment or speak to your GP. If you have life-threatening symptoms, call 999.