Rising energy prices: are people choosing between oxygen and heating?

While NHS leaders warn of “intolerable” winter pressure from rising energy prices,1 and hospitals are due to be hit with “eye watering” bills,2 we need to look at the energy costs of the medical equipment we provide to patients at home.UK inflation is at the highest rate in 40 years and the cost of living crisis is biting. This winter is going to be hard for many.At the end stages of life, a lot of medical equipment is used in people’s homes, provided by those of us in healthcare. The most basic things are a hospital bed (one available type, up to 0.27 kWh) that allows the patient to be positioned; an air mattress (one available type, 3.0 kWh) that is constantly inflated to avoid pressure sores; and an oxygen concentrator (around 2.88 kWh) to maintain comfortable breathing. This adds up to 6.15 kWh—and that’s before factoring in many other…
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