Oxygen: Medical Treatments
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England awarding contracts for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) services to three of six planned regional centres, if she will undertake a review of NHS England's recompression service contract; if she will take steps to ensure equitable geographic access to hyperbaric chambers across the UK; and if she will make it her policy to include (a) diver safety organisations and (b) medical experts in future consultations on HBOT services.
Answered by Karin Smyth
We are committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for any patient who requires Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. NHS England set out their assessment of service requirements in their commissioning intentions during the public consultation which took place in September 2024. The reconfiguration of services ensures service provision which meets optimal time to treatment guidelines, in which providers must be located no more than four hours, based on 200 miles radial distance, from the coast and four hours from the next nearest commissioned provider. More information on the consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/reviewing-hyperbaric-oxygen-services-consultation-guide/
We actively encourage individuals and organisations to register as stakeholders to ensure a full range of views are included in any service developments. Stakeholders can register their interest in services commissioned by NHS England on their website, which includes a special interest group for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The website is available at the following link:
https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/crg-stakeholder-reg-april-2019/
Any individuals or organisations who sign up are kept informed when NHS England engages on potential changes to the way that these services are commissioned. NHS England also encourages stakeholders to cascade invitations to provide feedback across their networks.
NHS England consulted with a range of stakeholders in the update of the service specification in line with the published Full Methods Process which requires clinically led design, full public consultation and targeted stakeholder engagement. The methods process is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/methods-national-service-specifications/
The engagement report for this service includes the range of stakeholders who provided feedback on the specification and the service model, and is available at the following link:
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