Home Oxygen Treatment | NHS Inform

Home oxygen therapy involves breathing in air that has more oxygen than normal through a mask or tube connected to a device in your home.

Home oxygen can only be prescribed by an authorised prescriber from the hospital, including a:

• respiratory consultant
• nurse specialist
• paediatrician
• neurologist
• cardiologist

Your GP can’t prescribe oxygen therapy.

Oxygen will not help breathlessness if your blood oxygen levels are normal. If you have a condition that means the level of oxygen in your blood is low, oxygen treatment can make you feel better and live longer.

Some people only need oxygen treatment for short periods during the day. For example, when you’re walking about. This is called ambulatory oxygen.

Some people need it for longer periods during the day and night. This is called long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT).

Using home oxygen therapy

Oxygen therapy can be given in different ways, including:

• nasal prongs placed in the nose with the tubing secured over the ear (nasal cannula)
• a face mask placed over the nose and mouth
• alongside other therapies to help people sleep and breathe

How home oxygen therapy can help

Home oxygen therapy can help people who don’t have enough oxygen in their blood.

Breathing air with a higher concentration of oxygen than normal can increase the amount of oxygen in your blood. This makes it easier to carry out activities and may reduce your symptoms.

Oxygen therapy can help people with a range of health conditions including:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a long-term lung condition
• severe long-term asthma
• cystic fibrosis – an inherited condition that causes the lungs to become clogged with thick, sticky mucus
• pulmonary hypertension – high pressure inside the arteries to the lungs, which damages the right-hand side of the heart
• conditions that affect the nerves and muscles or ribcage
• heart failure – when the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure
• breathing problems caused by a combination of obesity and have an underlying health condition

Oxygen therapy assessment

Your doctor will refer you to a specialist clinic for an assessment if they think your symptoms can be helped by home oxygen therapy.

During the assessment, the amount of oxygen in your blood is usually measured by taking a blood sample from your earlobe or wrist. Other tests may be needed, including:

• a spirometry – this measures the total amount of air you can breathe out from your lungs and how fast you can blow it out
• pulse oximetry – a sensor is attached to your finger to measure oxygen levels
• a walking test on a treadmill

Home oxygen therapy is only given if test results show that it’s needed.

If your health care professional has ordered oxygen therapy at home, they’ll decide how much oxygen you’ll need and how long you’ll need it. They’ll also discuss the different ways oxygen can be provided. This may involve a joint assessment at home with your respiratory nurse and the oxygen supplier Vivisol or with other oxygen specialists.

By agreeing to go on oxygen therapy, some information about your oxygen requirements will be shared with other NHS organisations and with the oxygen contractor Vivisol. They’ll send an engineer to your home to install the equipment and explain how to use it. They’ll also deliver new supplies of oxygen if you need them and do regular checks of your equipment.

You’ll be asked to consent if you wish to share your personal details with the Electricity Distributors (Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy Network) for the purposes of inclusion on the Priority Service Register. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Removal of consent to store your personal details will not affect any of the oxygen services provided to you.

Once your oxygen requirements have been assessed, the hospital will complete a Scottish Home Oxygen Order Form (SHOOF) and send it to the oxygen contractor. This is like a prescription.

Going on holiday

If you’re going on holiday within the UK, you can request that a secondary oxygen supply is placed at your holiday destination.

You should email Vivisol at [email protected] and give them details of your holiday. Tell them where you’re going and provide the full postal address, contact name and phone number.

It’s your responsibility to get permission from the property owner to have oxygen installed before you arrive and to have it taken away after you leave.

You should allow up to 3 weeks notice for arrangements to be made.

If you’re going to travel outside the UK and need oxygen, it’s your responsibility to arrange this. You may need to pay for this. Some airlines charge up to £200 per flight for inflight oxygen, so check before making any plans.

Always check with your doctor before going away to make sure you’re well enough to travel.

Asthma and Lung UK has advice about going on holiday with a lung condition.

Types of oxygen therapy

Oxygen concentrator machine

An oxygen concentrator machine is recommended if you need to have oxygen for most of the day (including when you’re sleeping).

It’s a machine that’s about the same size as a bedside table and plugs into a socket.

Large oxygen cylinders

A large oxygen cylinder will usually be ordered if you only need oxygen for a short time, for example, if you need oxygen for recovery, cluster headaches or to relieve sudden periods of breathlessnes.

Portable oxygen cylinders

It may be possible to use a small, portable oxygen cylinder outside your house or when moving around at home. This is called portable oxygen or ambulatory oxygen.

Portable oxygen cylinders contain oxygen under pressure. It’s pressurised so that more oxygen can be put in the cylinder to provide oxygen for several hours. Typically a portable cylinder will last around 4 hours. But this’ll depend on the oxygen flowrate that you need.

Some small portable oxygen cylinders are available for children and small adults who need low flow rates. All cylinders will be provided with a backpack for easy carrying.

Safety

Do

• keep your device at least 3 metres away from any appliances that use an open flame, like a gas cooker or gas fire
• turn off your oxygen supply when you’re not using it
• make sure oxygen is used in a well-ventilated room (windows and doors don’t need to be left open) and not in a confined area
• install fire alarms and smoke detectors in your home and make sure they’re working
• tell your local fire service that you have oxygen at home who can then arrange a free fire safety check
• keep your oxygen at least 3 metres away from electrical appliances, like a television or hair dryer
• keep your oxygen at least 3 metres away from heat sources, like radiators or electrical heaters
• keep all equipment clean using a damp cloth and a mild detergent, allowing equipment to dry fully
• take care not to slip or trip up over your tubing – be extra careful around doors and furniture

Don’t

• do not smoke, or let anyone else smoke near you when using your oxygen
• do not use electronic cigarettes while undergoing oxygen therapy
• do not charge electronic cigarette batteries near your oxygen
• do not charge electronic scooter batteries near your oxygen
• do not use face or hand creams that are oil-based like Vasaline – if you’re unsure ask your pharmacist
• do not let your tubing get trapped as this can reduce the flow of oxygen or even stop it
• do not let anyone tamper with your oxygen equipment or change the flow rate ordered by your healthcare professional
• do not cover or hang items on your device
• do not use flammable liquids, like cleaning fluid, paint thinner or aerosols, when using your device

Phone 999 if you:

• feel unwell
• need emergency oxygen

How to remove a home oxygen device

If oxygen equipment needs to be removed, phone Vivisol on 0800 833 531. They’re open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, or 24 hours for emergency issues only.

You can also contact them on email through [email protected]

Privacy notice

The Oxygen Therapy Service is provided by Vivisol on behalf of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). NSS is responsible for ensuring patients can receive oxygen therapy in their own homes.

Your oxygen equipment may be withdrawn by your clinical team if it’s not used.

Your personal information will be kept in a secure environment. All NHS staff and suppliers must keep your personal health information confidential. It will only shared with other professionals involved in your care.

NSS will share your personal information with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) in the performance of their Public Task. This will be done automatically as part of the wider public interest to ensure your safety as well as the safety of the property when providing this service. You may be contacted by SFRS and offered a home fire safety visit which you can decline if you wish. Your information will also be used to alert fire fighters that oxygen is being used at your address.

You may withdraw or amend your consent to share information with Electricity Distributors at any time by phoning Vivisol on 0800 833 531. If you do not consent to sharing your details for this purpose, this will not affect the oxygen service provided to you by Vivisol in any way.

More information on the NSS Data Protection Notice