Is HBOT available on the NHS? HBOT in the UK explained

The short answer is rarely, and for very specific emergencies. If you have been looking into HBOT in the UK and wondering whether the NHS will pay for it, this guide explains what is funded, what is not, how exceptions work, and what to check before choosing a private hyperbaric chamber in the UK.

Is hyperbaric oxygen therapy available on the NHS?

In England, the NHS routinely commissions hyperbaric oxygen therapy for two conditions:

• decompression illness, which mostly affects divers
• gas embolism, where gas enters the circulation, most often by accident during a medical procedure

NHS England set this out in its clinical commissioning policy, published in July 2018. The British Hyperbaric Association summarises the other half of that decision: NHS England withdrew routine funding for all other emergency and elective indications, while strongly supporting further research.

These are emergency services. NHS England's 2025 service specification estimates around 250 cases of decompression illness in England each year, and roughly 10 cases of gas embolism treated with HBOT. It requires:

• access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to assessment and advice from a hyperbaric physician
• medical oxygen above 99% purity, delivered at a pressure of at least 2.8 ATA
• the ability to provide critical care during treatment

NHS England buys this service from a small number of centres. Its 2024 consultation guide said it commissioned HBOT from 7 independent sector providers across 8 locations, at a cost of £8.2 million in 2023/24. It proposed reducing the number of centres from eight to six, with no more than 4 hours of road travel between them. Most of the services are coastal.

If you are a diver with symptoms, do not search for a clinic. Call 999, or the Coastguard at sea, and the national diving helpline.

What is not routinely funded, and can you still apply?

The 2025 specification names indications NHS England does not routinely commission, including but not limited to:

• carbon monoxide poisoning
• necrotising soft tissue infections
• soft tissue radiation damage after pelvic radiotherapy
• diabetic foot ulcers

That does not always close the door. An individual funding request can be made by the clinician treating you if they believe your clinical circumstances are exceptional and you may benefit from a treatment the NHS does not routinely offer. NHS England cannot accept a request directly from a patient, although you can work with your clinician on it. A request also needs evidence that the treatment is clinically effective and a good use of NHS resources.

In practice, this starts with a conversation with your specialist, not a self-referral. It is a fair question to raise if HBOT has come up in your care, but the bar is high.

What about NHS Wales?

Health is devolved, so NHS Wales makes its own commissioning decisions. The NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee lists hyperbaric oxygen therapy among its specialised services, describing it as a treatment for certain medical conditions, including decompression sickness and non-healing wounds.

Its commissioning policy CP07 mirrors the English position. For people registered with a GP in Wales, the committee commissions hyperbaric oxygen for decompression illness and gas embolism, for all ages, across all seven health boards and through designated providers that include centres in England. Other uses fall outside routine commissioning, and the policy lists an Individual Patient Funding Request as the exceptions route. The policy describes treatment pressures of at least 2.0 ATA, with 2.8 ATA common in recompression protocols.

If you live in Wales and HBOT has come up in your care, ask your GP or specialist how the current policy applies to you.

What does private HBOT offer, and what does it not?

Private hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the UK is self-funded treatment in a chamber run by a clinic rather than commissioned by the NHS. Chambers vary a great deal. Some are rigid hospital-style units, some are single-person soft-shell chambers, and home fabric chambers are something different again.

What private HBOT is:

• planned sessions, booked around your diary, often as a course
• a way to try hyperbaric oxygen for recovery and wellbeing goals, with an honest discussion of the research
• in a well-run clinic, screened and supervised

What private HBOT is not:

• an emergency service, or a substitute for the NHS route for decompression illness or gas embolism
• a replacement for your existing care, which should continue alongside it
• automatically the same as the research, because many hospital protocols run at higher pressures, and a result at one pressure cannot simply be assumed at another

The advertising regulator is direct about claims. ASA and CAP guidance says they have yet to see convincing evidence that oxygen used as an alternative therapy in hyperbaric chambers is efficacious, and that marketers need documentary evidence from clinical trials before claiming a therapy can treat any condition. Be cautious about any provider that promises to treat a named condition.

How do you choose a private HBOT provider in the UK?

Use these questions as a checklist. A good provider will answer every one plainly.

1. Who supervises the service? Under CAP rule 12.2, advertising should avoid referring to conditions that need medical supervision unless treatment is carried out under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional. Ask who that professional is and what their role covers.
2. What pressure and oxygen do you use? You should get numbers, not adjectives. Pressure in ATA and how oxygen is delivered define what a session actually is.
3. How do you screen people? Pressure is not suitable for everyone. Expect a medical declaration covering lungs, ears and sinuses, medicines, pregnancy and claustrophobia, with a clear process when an answer needs review.
4. Are you registered? In Wales, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales lists hyperbaric therapy among treatments that require a non-NHS provider to register as an independent hospital.
5. What does the evidence say, including its limits? An honest provider will give you the study size, pressure and number of sessions, and tell you where the evidence is weak.
6. What is the full price? Look for published prices, including a single session, so you can try the experience before committing to a course.
7. What happens in an emergency? The provider should be clear that its chamber is not an emergency recompression service, and explain its safety procedures.

Where does HBOT Medics fit?

HBOT Medics is a private, doctor-led service in Pontcanna, Cardiff, inside RosMedics, an HIW-registered independent hospital. Our single-person soft-shell chamber runs at 1.5 ATA with concentrated oxygen, and we publish how our chamber compares with the research. A named medical lead holds overall clinical supervision, and everyone completes a medical declaration before their first session, as explained in who HBOT is not suitable for.

No referral needed. Medical consultation included. Our prices are published in full, and you can read more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy in Cardiff, including where we are and how booking works.

We are not an NHS service, and we are not an emergency facility. If your specialist thinks you may qualify for NHS-funded HBOT, have that conversation first.

The short version

In England, the NHS routinely funds HBOT for decompression illness and gas embolism, at a small number of specialist centres. Other uses depend on an individual funding request made by your clinician in exceptional circumstances. Wales commissions separately. Private HBOT is widely available but varies, so choose on supervision, published pressure, screening, registration and honesty about the evidence.