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Letters to the Editor
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Oxygen services
Conflicting advice
From Mrs S. M. Herbert, MRPharmS
In a recent news
story (PJ, 11 February, p155) the Pharmaceutical Services
Negotiating Committee lays the blame for the chaos surrounding the new
home oxygen service with GPs, particularly where GPs have issued home
oxygen order forms (HOOFs) for all their patients, with effect from 1
February.
It was quite clearly the intention that HOOFs should be sent to the new
oxygen suppliers from 1 February only when a patient actually required
a new supply of oxygen. Yet, in a recent NHS Primary Care Contracting newsletter (20 January), there is an example under “best practice” which
suggests that practices could send off their HOOFs to their supplier
before 1 February, but post-date them for 1 February. One of our practices
was also given the same advice directly by Air Products, which, luckily,
they checked again before carrying this out.
Perhaps this is where some of these practices that have clogged up the
system got the idea from? It would seem that NHS PCC did not check this
information carefully before posting it on its website, with the result
that this may have added to the ensuing chaos and conflicting advice
concerning the oxygen handover.
Sue Herbert
Prescribing Adviser
Northamptonshire Heartlands PCT
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SARAH WRIXON, on behalf of the NHS Primary
Care Contracting team, responds:
The advice in the document Mrs Herbert refers to was sent to
us as an example of good practice and was shared in good faith.
It is true that central guidance advised that GPs should issue
a home oxygen order form only when a new patient or existing
patient presented for a repeat prescription. We accept that some
of the guidance within the document in question may have contradicted
central guidance and apologise for any confusion. Primary care
trusts have always had the flexibility to adapt central guidance
to suit their individual circumstances and those of their new
oxygen suppliers. The document has now been withdrawn in order
to avoid any further confusion.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal