I am dependent on long-term oxygen therapy after a double lung transplant.
I’m entitled to reimbursement of the excess electricity used by the oxygen concentrator and have received quarterly payments of about £48 from Vivisol, which administers rebates on behalf of the NHS.
However, I was forced to stay with friends and family for a year after my house was flooded, and I spent a further two months convalescing at my daughter’s house after a heart operation.
I received no rebates during that time, and Vivisol told me l would not be reimbursed while I was not living at home, which means my hosts had to subsidise my treatment.
SS, East Sussex
The rebate scheme is intended to protect eligible patients who rely on an oxygen concentrator from spiralling energy costs.
I see that Vivisol’s website states, in passing, that patients are eligible for the cost of using the machine at their main address.
This strikes me as insufficiently clear, as well as potentially unfair. It’s a no-brainer that those with such serious health issues might have to relocate, as you did, for convalescence, for respite care or building work.
It seems unreasonable to me to expect friends and family to foot what can be a considerable bill for treatment and, since concentrators record electricity consumption on an integrated meter unconnected to the household meter, it is straightforward to be able to monitor the costs involved.
I first approached NHS England to ask if this restriction was NHS policy and whether there were exemptions for cases such as yours.
It referred me to the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board, which explained that patients can nominate a temporary address as their main residence via their service provider in circumstances such as yours.
In the meantime, Vivisol responded to my contact by agreeing to reinstate and backdate your rebates to cover the period while you were away.
A spokesperson said: “All communication does highlight that the eligibility only applies at the patient’s main address. As a result of your email, we will review to identify if that can be made clearer.”
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