Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of ECMO beds this winter.

NHS England has actively monitored Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) bed capacity over winter. During the period 1 November 2017 to 31 March 2018, NHS England monitors capacity on a weekly basis (increasing this frequency if required). During periods of high demand, capacity can be increased in line with an agreed standard operating procedure.

There is no information to suggest that a patient who has been accepted for ECMO treatment has been unable to access it, either in the last 12 months or over the last five years. Any individual patient concerns about access to ECMO treatment would be most appropriately raised with the service provider or NHS England as the commissioner of ECMO services.