Walking with Oxygen Campaign - Living life with Oxygen

Basically when Air products took over in February this year. My DR's surgery had sent the hoof form off for me and I was told by air products they had to issue me with a concentrator.. I already have one so I told them I had already got one of those it was the portable cylinders I needed they said the DR's had filled the form out wrong and I would have to get another sent off. So I got my GP to send another off with the correct information. When I contacted them they said they hadn't got the fax from my GP's so I had to ring the GP's and get another one sent.. but I still couldn't get any oxygen cylinders from them although I did have my concentrator but I need the cylinders to take out with me. So with many thanks to the the CF nurse specialist at my hospital as I was going away on holiday she rang them and got some cylinders sorted out for and a concentrator sent to my friends house where I was initially going to for a holiday. When I returned I contacted Air products to say I needed a new cylinder as I had run out and they said to me that it was "illegal for me to have any" despite the hospital ringing them and telling them I was on home oxygen and and they had already had two faxes from my GP. But they would happily send me out a oxygen cylinder bag! So whereas the logic in that. Anyway by this point it was August and I contacted my surgery again and they sent another form off. I saw in my local newspaper an article about Air products and how people all over the city had been affected by things going wrong with them and I went onto their website and posted an online comment about my experience with them. They contacted me and spoke to me on the phone about my experience with them and they put a small paragraph a few days later in. Finally I was getting my cylinders delivered after how many times of having a fax sent off.

I then had to move house because where I was living was a danger to my health. A week before I moved house I contacted Air products to let them know I was moving house and to change my address with them. At this point I didn't know I would have to change my DR's as I was only moving a mile or so down the road and thought I would be in the catchment area. They told me I would have to go through the whole process again and get a new hoof form faxed through from my GP. I thought this was ridiculous why can you not just simply tell them you are moving house and give them the new address of where you need the cylinders delivered to. Anyway I found out from my GP that I was not in the area so registered at a new practice and I told them I was on home oxygen and explained that Air products needed a new hoof faxed through with my new address on. They never did it .. it was coincidental that I was contacted by my local newspaper again to see if the air products service had improved. Which it had when I started to get my cylinders but I explained to them the problems I was having with them now and my new GP's surgery to get a new form faxed off.

My story appeared in the Leicester Mercury on the 10th November. Please Click to read the story.

The point about this story is that the system whether it is the GP or the Oxygen Supplier are components in keeping us well and we are dependant upon a bureaucracy that is inclined to fail people. But also this bureaucracy will nitpick by hiding behind the contract. The supplier when informed knew that a patient needed help would do nothing. We need more responsibility. The supplier was going to supply Charlotte anyway so why create a new record. This should have been actioned anyway with a HOOF to follow to confirm the change. Jobsworth could be the description that comes to mind. This is meant to be the Home Oxygen Service (note the word SERVICE). Thanks to paper's like the Leicester Mercury and the reporter Gemma Peplow for highlighting these issues.

What tale do you have? similar or something new? Contact Kathy with kathy@oxywalk.org. 

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Last modified: 08/30/07