Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that nursing homes and care homes receive the oxygen supplies they require.

Where care or nursing home residents are assessed as requiring oxygen by their health care professional, either an oxygen concentrator or oxygen cylinders will be installed by the regional Home Oxygen Service (HOS) provider, who also deliver training on proper use. The HOS provider is then responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the concentrator or replacement of oxygen cylinders as needed. The HOS contracts in England require HOS providers to deliver the equipment within four hours in urgent cases. All the HOS providers have maintained their service levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic period and supply chains have remained resilient.