Patient safety vital in transfer of home oxygen service, says Society
The need to maintain patient safety during the transfer of the home oxygen service in England and Wales from community pharmacies to regional oxygen supply companies has been emphasised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Four regional contractors will supply both cylinders and concentrators
as part of an integrated service from 1 February — four months
after the originally intended date.
The Society says that the delay has caused confusion and there are worries
that some patients may be left without oxygen when the new service begins.
To address these concerns the Society calls on primary care trusts and
pharmacists to work together to ensure that the new service is implemented
as smoothly as possible and with minimal risk to patients.
The Society is also helping pharmacists to direct their patients towards
sources of advice and information about the new arrangements. Four key
points have been identified for pharmacists to bear in mind (see Panel).
Key points
· Patients unable to
obtain oxygen before 1 February should contact their local primary
care trust. Patients unable to obtain oxygen
after 1 February should telephone their new supplier using a
24-hour emergency hotline number:
Air Products
0800 373580
Allied
Respiratory
0500 823773
BOC Vitalair
0800 136603
Linde
0808 2020999
· A single supplier will meet all patients’ home oxygen
needs, whether cylinder, concentrator or liquid oxygen
· Worried patients can be advised to call NHS Direct (tel 0845
4647), which will explain the changes and print copies of the
NHS leaflet
about home oxygen supply and send to callers if they do not have
access to the internet
· A new section of the primary care contracting website provides
details
of the home oxygen service and includes a range of materials
for pharmacists to download. |
Council
Member Sid Dajani, who chairs the Practice Committee, says: “Importantly,
we would encourage pharmacists to ask patients to ensure they have oxygen
supplies leading up to the transition period to minimise the need for
the new supplier to make emergency supplies during the handover period.”
To help pharmacists, national pharmacy organisations have developed a
template letter for community pharmacists to disseminate to their patients
during this period of transition. It is available from the Pharmaceutical
Services Negotiating Committee website |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal