TY - JOUR T1 - Saving your G --ass !!! JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P1207 AU - Phyllis Murphie AU - Helen Coles AU - Margaret Gall AU - Irene Hunter AU - Jane Gysin AU - Stuart Little Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P1207.abstract N2 - A national home oxygen service contract review is being undertaken in NHS Scotland with the implementation of a domiciliary oxygen service best practice/guidance Statement. The Respiratory nursing team in NHS Dumfries and Galloway have undertaken a regional review of all patients using any modality of home oxygen. Since March 2011 - 300 patient clinic reviews have been conducted regarding home oxygen use in the nurse led clinics.Findings: Prescription of oxygen is often conducted without establishing that people meet the criteria for this. There is a perception that oxygen is a treatment for breathlessness without assessing for hypoxaemia. Inappropriate prescribing is arising both in primary and secondary care settings. The costs of inappropriate oxygen prescribing are significant.Outcomes: 50 oxygen concentrators installed for those who met the criteria for LTOT resulting in a saving of £ 30,000 in previous oxygen cylinder prescribing costs. 30 patients identified who met the criteria for the more efficient Homefill oxygen system with predicted annual savings costs of £47,000. 20 patients were identified who would benefit from an oxygen conserving device adding further efficiency savings. Oxygen was withdrawn from 12 users who were not hypoxaemic with only two being problematic.Conclusions: Better technology/equipment that meets service user's needs is becoming available regionally and nationally. National Guidance /best practice local adoption and implementation are central to better prescribing practices and service improvement. A successful educational, communication and implementation strategy are central to delivering this new service locally. Significant efficiency savings have already been identified in our organisation as a result of this review. ER -