This proposal is open for public consultation so please do participate if you have an opinion that you would like to share with NHS England. The closing date is 4 June 2016.
We understand why NHS England aims to fund only treatments for which there is universal acceptance by clinicians and no perceived need for research (e.g. decompression illness) or no opportunity for randomised controlled trials (e.g. gas embolism). We also recognise that, in situations where the current evidence is questioned, further research is required. We are fully aware, however, that many treatment decisions inside and outside the NHS depend on the judgement of medical staff based upon their experience of patient care, rather than robust high-level research.
On the basis of outcomes reported in medical literature and observed by our own members, the British Hyperbaric Association remains confident that hyperbaric oxygen is beneficial for other conditions including selected cases of diabetic foot wounds, carbon monoxide poisoning, necrotising soft tissue infections, malignant otitis externa and late radiation tissue injuries and we will continue to support further research designed to address any uncertainties that exist.
