Does anyone know if the NHS provides small portable oxygen concentrators.

[boiler]

[Gidge]

Oh yes - if you can get the consultant to agree! we managed to get one last Christmas, as Keith has liquid oxygen for going out; that's great, but only lasts 4 hours, then you are stuck, because you only have one thingummy issued. I said we wanted to go to a family get-together which is an hour away - that meant 2 hours socialising and back home. He arranged for us to have a portable conentrator, its battery only last 2 hours but you can run it off the mains or off the cigar lighter in the car. Brilliant. We use it when Keith goes to the day centre, they plug him in there and also use the liquid oxy. if they take him to the loo etc. Gill

[boiler in reply to Gidge]

Hello Gidge. Thanks for the information. It's great to know that it is possible to get a small concentrator. I am now at the stage where any sort of walking is causing me major problems and ambulatory oxygen has been suggested as the best option for me. I have looked at some small concentrators and think that they would provide me with the kind of oxygen support that I need for travel etc. Would you mind telling me which machine you are using so that I can look it up. I am due to be assessed in the next couple of weeks and I would like to understand the differences in these machines

[Gidge in reply to boiler]

Hi Boiler - the portable concentrator is an SOLO2 by Invacare; it's no lightweight,but it comes on a deatchable trolley that you can pull behind you like a suitcase. The battery last 2 hours on continuous 2 litres per minute; if you breath strongly enough you can double that time by having it on a pulse setting. It can be run on mains electricity or off the cigar lighter in the car. If you are after a lighterweight system which is easily carried, then liquid oxygen (LOX) may be for you. This is a unit you can refill from a tank of LOX which will last a couple of weeks depending on usage.(Out tank, called a dewar, is in the garage - they won't take them above ground floor)The portable unit, called a Marathon in our case, will provide 4 hours roughly at 2LPM - or 8 hours if your breath is sufficient to put it on intermittent, where the act of breathing in triggers the release of the oxygen. It goes into a backpack - weighs more when full of course! The only disadvantage is that it will slowly evaporate whether used or not, so if you fill it up one morning and don't use it, it will likely be almost empty by the next morning. You also need to let it 'settle' for about half an hour after filling before using. Neither of the sytems will go to high flow rate - about 3 LPM on continuous is about the limit on the Invacare, maybe a bit higher on the LOX, but of course they run out a lot quicker at higher rates. Hope that gives you food for thought - I'm sure if you Google them you can find out a lot more!

Gill

[Mocarey]

it's great you have a consultant that agrees to that. No luck here.

[Joewarren]

There is a company called Invacare that provide oxygen concentrators that are easily portable, the size of a satchel bag, they are light and do not require a heavy oxygen cylinder attached. These are available on the NHS in England and Wales and on special prescription in Scotland. You can have them providing you satisfy certain criteria upon exercise. If you are already on home oxygen it sounds like you should satisfy this. If you have no joy with you consultant, I would suggest getting in touch with the company and asking who is the NHS specialist nurse assigned in your area(you don't say where you live). If you then contact her I am sure she will put your case to your consultant for you. This equipment is fairly new to the NHS i.e. 2-3 years and hence some consultants may be slow to come on board as I know there is a fairly hefty price tag attached for the NHS and arguably they do the same job as ordinary home oxygen but are obviously so much more convenient and reliant if travelling long distances. Good luck

Joe

[boiler in reply to Joewarren]

Hello Joewarren. This is great information. I was with a consultant last month and, following a number of tests, his recommendation was that I should check to see if small, low weight, oxygen concentrators were available in my area. I then discussed this with my GP. He knew about cylinders but had no experience of concentrator availability. He did have someone check this and the answer appears that some portable concentrators may be available to patients with certain conditions. I am now waiting for an appointment with the respiratory nurse to have an assessment.

I live in Northern Ireland and all the medical support personnel here are excellent.

Would you mind telling me the make of the machine that you have so that I can have a look at it on the web.

[Joewarren in reply to boiler]

The machine I know about is Invacare's XPO2 and you can look this up on their website. I believe they are sold to BOC who then supply them to the NHS in your area. I don't use this machine myself but know someone who does(I am not yet on home oxygen). You may also want to look at light weight cylinders that are filled at home through Invacare's home fill system these do not require the delivery of heavy cylinders, you refill the cylinder you have for home fill, this is a special type of cylinder, using the concentrator

[Davydymond in reply to boiler]

Boiler, I may be a bit late on this one, but I live in NI also, and these are now available on the NHS. My trust is the North-western - Altnagelvin, Enniskillen etc. BOC took over the contract here this year from Air Liquide. BOC have an excellent range of portable o2 concentrators, and I'm sure it's the same in other Trust areas. Contact your local Respiratory Nurse at your Trust, and it will start from there. You're right - the service is excellent here!!

[boiler in reply to Davydymond]

Thank you Davydymond. I have had an initial assessment. It seems that I need 2 l/m when at rest but something like 4 l/min on constant flow when I am active. As you know many portable concentrators are unable to produce this. We are now considering liquid oxygen and the respiratory team will arrange another assessment in the near future.

[Davydymond in reply to boiler]

Hi again Boiler. You're right. Liquid o2 seems to be the way for you. Most of the portable ones only give 2 litres constant, with the exception of the DeBliss, at 3 litres. I have been using a privately bought Airsep Freestyle for the last 2 years, with provides 1-3 litres on pulse. Unfortunately, due to a simple eye operation which went wrong afterwards, the cure weakened me so much, I caught pneumonia and ended up in hospital for 3 weeks. The only good thing about that was the attention I got afterwards, thanks to an excellent lady consultant at Altnagelvin. I was supplied with a Philips EverFlo home concentrator which I use at 2 litres constant. Then this week they upgraded me to an Invacare HomeFill 2 which not only supplies up to 5 litres constant, but has a relatively quiet compressor on top which fills up small lightweight pulse/constant o2 cylinders. Even the smallest is giving me 5 hours plus on 2 litres pm, and only weighs a few lbs. If you need 4 litres constant for perambulatory, Boiler, they shouldn't be having you wait all this time to be supplied. Chase it up. I'm interested to know which Health Trust you are under. But if you don't want to make that public, I can give you my email address, and we can carry on off-line as it were. I'm afraid I've gone on a lot longer here than I planned, and hope I haven't bored you to death by now, so I'll sign off. (Although I would like to know how you get on).

Best Regards

David

[boiler in reply to Davydymond]

David I just compiled a reply but it's gone somewhere out there and I can't find it. If you like to contact me on [e-mail] I will be happy to share details with you. All the best for now. Brian

[boiler in reply to Davydymond]

Well David, I think we should swap emails and will give you mine at the end of this reply. I am under the western board, the same as you. Does the name Helena mean anything to you? I did see the unit you talk about where you fill your cylinder from the concentrator and was considering this since the portables were not going to be suitable for my needs. I do have a home concentrator, and a privately acquired Sequal 3, but neither of these is suitable when going a message etc. I now have a liquid oxygen unit at home on a trial basis. This will soon be assessed by the professionals.

[boiler in reply to Davydymond]

David, did you get my email address

[AbbyRudi]

My husband bought a portable concentrator years ago for himself, the problem with it is it only goes up to 2 liters per minute. (Long story, he knew he needed supplemental O2 but refused to see the doctor.) At this point he needs 6 when walking, so it's okay when he's sitting but not good when moving about.

[boiler in reply to AbbyRudi]

Thank you AbbyRudi. Like your husband I am ok when sitting but once I start to do anything my saturated oxygen level immediately drops. I don't know yet what level of oxygen I would need when walking

[Annieo in reply to boiler]

Your consultant should ask your respiratory nurse specialist to give you the 6 min walk teat . That is now they access your need

[boiler in reply to Annieo]

Thank you Annieo. I have had the 6 min walk test and this was one of the pieces of information that the specialist considered prior to my discussion with him. I am due to see my nurse specialist in the very near future.

[boiler]

Thank you Gidge and Joewarren for the information. I will certainly look these up and take account of your suggestions re refill cylinders. Hopefully I will end up with some form of ambulatory oxygen following my next assessment. I will let you know.

[Jemma]

boiler

I'm on liquid 02 which is supplied by my 02 supplier on the NHS. The supplier also loaned me (free) an Inogen XP02 POC that has a cigarette charger and can also be plugged into the mains to recharge the battery as well. I believe there is an Inogen XP03 out now? The only thing I will say is that when you Google these POC's they say "It only weighs "xyz" BUT when you put the whole kit together it came out at double the weight!

[boiler in reply to Jemma]

Thank you Jemma for the info. I will look this up and pay attention to the final weight, if the opportunity arises

[Aliechick]

As already said you need an assessment by respiratory nurse specialist.

Oxygen is supplied from designated regional suppliers on an individual basis direct to your home.

There are ambulatory (portable) cylinders for short term use - eg going to hospital, shopping. As said capacity is limited about 4 hours worth depending on setting. Carrying cases are provided too which help transportation.

Liquid oxygen is another category again - and portables available- I think there is some confusion in some of the other responses in what is liquid and what is gas.

No one should need to buy their own oxygen in the UK as it is provided free on the NHS.

See website nhs.uk/Conditions/home-oxyg...

This gives a good summary and links

[boiler]

My respiratory team is now considering liquid oxygen and will assess how useful it will be for me in the near future.

Thank you for your reply to my question

[Hidden]

does anyone know what size bottle we are prescribed while on ambulatory O2 as I need to by a carrier to fit to my powerchair

[weejohn]

I have the same problem as I visiting a number of relatives in different locations within UK over a period of three weeks. It is possible to arrange deliveries of O2 cylinders to the various locations which could turn out to be a mess. I have approached my hospital consultant having first downloaded some information only to find my consultant doesn't use the internet. It appears that NHS do not run a rental service for portable Oxygen Concentrators though I am continuing to push for such service. The alternative is to spend £2000 odd.

[mrsmummy in reply to weejohn]

Many oxygen companies will now supply a portable concentrator in place of cylinders. Do ask yours after consulting with your pulmonary nurse/doctor as to suitability for you.