Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation were available to the NHS in England and (b) were occupied in each week from 20 November 2017 to 7 January 2018.

Since April 2013, NHS England has commissioned 15 adult respiratory extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) beds per annum from five providers. In periods of high demand, capacity can be increased in line with an agreed standard operating procedure.

During the period 1 November to 31 March, NHS England monitors capacity on a weekly basis (increasing this frequency if required). The number of adult beds occupied in each week from 20 November to 7 January, as recorded on a Monday afternoon (unless otherwise indicated), was as follows:

To help protect patient identity, in the weeks where the number of beds occupied was fewer than 10, it is not possible to give the exact number of beds occupied.

As with adult ECMO beds, from April 2013 NHS England has also commissioned paediatric respiratory ECMO beds from five providers. In periods of high demand, capacity at these providers can be increased in line with an agreed standard operating procedure. There is no set number of beds per provider because the number of paediatric cases is very small. It is not possible to give information about the number of paediatric beds occupied in each week from 20 November to 7 January due to patient confidentiality.