Oxygen: Medical Treatments
(asked on 13th June 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take make an assessment of the potential impact of NHS England's decision to reduce the number of contracted hyperbaric oxygen therapy centres on emergency care.
The Department is content with the assessments NHS England conducted regarding this procurement. The Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment for this procurement is available at the following link:
NHS England is committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services for anyone who requires hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This will be achieved through the commissioning of 6 geographically dispersed services across England. Three preferred providers have been identified to date, and a further procurement exercise will take place to identify the three remaining centres.
The contract for HBOT services (“recompression”) was reviewed in 2024, as existing contract terms expired. This included an update of the service specification using the published full methods process and public consultation on the proposal to reduce the number of commissioned providers in England from eight to six centres. The updates to the specification seek to ensure timely access to treatment for the most acutely unwell patients with the specification requiring: the delivery of care that is integrated with other services including the emergency department, critical care, and other healthcare professionals as required; and facilities should be capable of receiving patients in any diagnostic category who may require advanced life support either immediately or during HBOT.
The geographical scope of the six services will ensure that there are no more than four hours travelling time by road from coastal locations, furthest borders or between neighbouring commissioned HBOT centres; this is in line with good practice guidelines.