Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS England awarded only three contracts for the provision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy services following its most recent tendering process.

NHS England is committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for anyone who requires hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). This will be achieved through the commissioning of six geographically dispersed services across England. Three preferred providers have been identified to date, and a further procurement exercise will take place to identify the three remaining centres.

The contract for HBOT services, also known as recompression, was reviewed in 2024, as existing contract terms expired. This included an update of the service specification using the published full methods process, and a public consultation on the proposal to reduce the number of commissioned providers in England from eight to six centres. Further information on the service specification, the published full methods process, and the consultation is available, respectively, at the following three links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-services-all-ages-Service-specification-January-2025.pdf

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/methods-national-service-specifications/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/reviewing-hyperbaric-oxygen-services-consultation-guide/#:~:text=Background-,Background,Manual%20of%20Prescribed%20Specialised%20Services

The updates to the specification seek to ensure timely access to treatment for the most acutely unwell patients with the specification requiring:

• the delivery of care that is integrated with other services, including the emergency department, critical care, and other healthcare professionals as required; and
• facilities should be capable of receiving patients in any diagnostic category who may require advanced life support either immediately or during HBOT.

The geographical scope of the six services will ensure that there are no more than four hours travelling time by road from coastal locations, from the furthest borders, or between neighbouring commissioned HBOT centres, which is in line with good practice guidelines.