Tuesday 7 June 2005 – Health Minister Jane Kennedy today unveiled plans to improve home oxygen services for some 60,000 patients. Oxygen therapy services are vital in supporting adults and children with breathing difficulties, including those with long-term medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis and emphysema. The service helps them manage their symptoms so that they can live at home rather than in a hospital.
Jane Kennedy said:
"The new services will ensure that patients have access to the latest equipment that meets their individual needs and helps to improve their quality of life.
"Patients want to be at home and we want them to have the confidence and support to manage their symptoms at home. I know that patients and the NHS want to see change and I want to see this happen as soon as possible.
"Many patients receiving this service have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease which represents over 10% of all acute admissions every year and costs the NHS around £600m. A better home oxygen service will help to reduce emergency admission to hospitals."
Following competitive tendering, four companies have been awarded contracts to provide a modernised service across England by the end of the year, putting an end to the current fragmented service.
Patients will now have round the clock access to expert advice and support in making the best use of the latest equipment, including lighter weight cylinders, smaller, more efficient concentrators, liquid oxygen and, for the first time, portable systems that support greater mobility and independence.
Professor Wisia Wedzicha of the British Thoracic Society said:
"The introduction of the new home oxygen service is the most exciting development in the management of patients with chronic respiratory disability and respiratory failure for the past 20 years.
"This service has been much awaited by patients, physicians and nurses. We look forward to working with the new providers in choosing the most appropriate oxygen system to support individual needs."
Dame Helena Shovelton of the British Lung Foundation said:
"Moving to this new system of home oxygen provision should result in a better service with a wider range of choice for patients. The British Lung Foundation has been working with the Department of Health to achieve this improvement and is delighted that people who need Long Term Oxygen therapy will have access to lightweight equipment that will enable them to go out more easily and so lead as full a life as possible."
The four successful companies are:
The new service supports clinical best practice and has been developed in consultation with clinicians and patients.
About 60,000 patients receive home oxygen therapy (England), including those with lung disease (such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and lung cancer), heart disease and cystic fibrosis. It also supports the discharge of premature babies so that they can be at home with their parents as soon as possible.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease results in 300,000 emergency hospital admissions every year – this represents over 10% of all acute admissions and costs the NHS around £600m. The new service will help patients at home control their symptoms and support hospital discharge. Expert advice and support will be available 24 hours a day/7 days a week.
At present hospital staff cannot order home oxygen for their patients. This will change – both GPs and hospital doctors can order the required service, which must be delivered within specific response times, including emergencies.
Wisia Wedzicha is Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of London, and a member of the British Thoracic Society Working Group on Oxygen Therapy.
Dame Helena Shovelton is Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation. The BLF is a patient-centred organisation providing information and support for people with all the 40+ lung diseases. The BLF campaigns for better service provision and raises money for research into respiratory disease (www.lunguk.org). The BLF has 130 patient support groups called “Breathe Easy” across the UK.
For public enquiries please call the public enquiries line. For media enquiries only contact Michelle Hinds at the DH media centre on 020 7210 5375.
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