ONE of the United Kingdom's leading experts in sleep disorders has helped launch a bill in the House of Commons to try to trigger government action to ensure such problems are diagnosed and treated.

And Dr Melissa Hack, who works at the Royal Gwent Hospital, has warned that increasing levels of obesity in Wales could lead to a rise in sleep disorder cases.

Dr Hack, a consultant in chest medicine, established the sleep centre at Newport's St Woolos Hospital, which diagnoses and treats patients with sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

But though Gwent patients are benefiting from her expertise, Dr Hack says services elsewhere in Wales are patchy.

She has been supporting moves to get sleep disorders onto the government's agenda, and yesterday helped launch the Sleep Apnoea Bill with Labour MP Alice Mahon.

More than 750,000 people in England and Wales are affected by sleep disorders, of which OSA is the most common.

Repeated collapses of the back of the throat - as many as 500 a night in some cases - during sleep, stop sufferers breathing, causing repeated sleep disruption and leaving people tired.

The snoring that accompanies such disruptions can also affect the sleep of sufferers' partners. Tiredness can contribute to road accidents and accidents at work, and can be a factor in people losing their jobs.

Some 2 to 4 per cent of men and 1 to 2 per cent of women suffer sleep disorders, but with around two-thirds of OSA patients also classed as overweight, and with obesity levels rising, Dr Hack has warned that sleep disorders are likely to increase, too.

She has addressed Assembly Members and Wales' chief medical officer, Dr Ruth Hall, and hopes the bill will provide the stimulus for more action. "The number of people with sleep disorders is set to keep rising and we need to be in a position to respond quickly to their needs," said Dr Hack.