Concerns over oxygen service continue to be raised
In response to the failures of the new home oxygen service, an action checklist has been drawn up by the Department of Health, the NHS and the new suppliers, but problems with the transfer of the service have continued to be raised.
The checklist states that GPs should continue to issue FP10s to patients
requiring cylinder oxygen and that pharmacy contractors who supply against
an FP10 prescription will be paid until the patient transfers to a new
supplier. The guidance is available
online.
Difficulties with the introduction of the new service have continued
to be highlighted this week, however. One pharmacist complained to The
Journal that Allied Respiratory had told patients that it could not cope
and that patients should dial 999 for help.
Steve Gullick, managing director of Allied Respiratory, told The
Journal: “Last
week we received in excess of 24,000 calls from existing cylinder patients
but, due to the inaccurate information given to us by GPs, the contract
was unserviceable. However, at no point did we suggest that patients
call 999.”
The chaotic start of the new contracts has also been described in several
Letters to The Journal (p204) and pharmacists have complained that they
have been unable to contact Air Products via its helpline. A spokesman
for Air Products told The Journal: “There were certainly difficulties
last week and we apologise to those patients and pharmacists who could
not get through. Along with the health authorities, we planned for around
3,000 calls a day to our helpline — more than 10 times the number
you would expect during normal operations. In the first two days, 12,500
calls were made to our helpline. The company responded quickly to the
volume of calls and put in place more than three times the levels of
resource.”
Another pharmacist writes that the wife of a patient receiving oxygen
was told by BOC Vitalair that, in order to find information about the
new service, she should visit her local library to use the internet.
A spokesman for BOC told The Journal: “The Vitalair internet forms
a part of BOC’s communications to patients about the new home care
oxygen arrangements. Over the last few months BOC has written to all
patients, enclosing an explanatory letter from their local primary care
trust and a BOC brochure about the new service. … In addition, patients
receive a comprehensive booklet from BOC when they are first supplied
with oxygen by BOC.” He also explained BOC’s delivery policy
following concerns that delivery days and times would be limited. “If
a patient needs oxygen to be delivered every day then BOC will deliver
every day,” he said.
Disagreement has continued as to whether the present phased transition
was intended. Before the transfer, Primary Care Contracting’s communications
team said: “After 1 February we expect pharmacists to withdraw
progressively from the provision of cylinder services. … We expect
all pharmacists to continue to provide a cylinder service within the
validity of the prescription.”
Air Products told The Journal this week: “A transition period to
the new service was always planned where pharmacies could continue to
supply oxygen to patients until they were transferred to the new service.”
The Pharmaceutical Service Negotiating Committee said in a statement
last week: “Although it was not the Department of Health’s
intention, where oxygen is required and the surgery cannot contact the
new supplier, pharmacies will be reimbursed for dispensing prescriptions
dated after 1 February.” |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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