CPAP Machines

As a Registered Charity, we take serious our responsibility for patient safety and follow the 'Standard of Care' Guidelines published by the ARTP (Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology) which states ....."CPAP devices should not be supplied in the UK without a written prescription"..... and we stress that a diagnosis and 'prescription' is necessary for the purchase or rental of a CPAP or BiPAP machine. It is not advisable to try to purchase a machine without a diagnosis, and neither is it ethical to supply one, as there can be contraindications which is why these class iia medical device machines are known as 'prescription' items!

If you are finding it difficult to get diagnosed by your local sleep clinic due to long waiting lists or have even been refused a referral, we do have a Home Sleep Study Diagnostic Service and the diagnosis is performed by a qualified Sleep Consultant with many years experience in the NHS.

What is a CPAP Prescription?

When the word 'prescription' is used for the purchase or rental of a CPAP machine, this is not like a standard prescription which GP's provide for medication. What is required as a 'prescription' in order to purchase, rent and agree to supply a CPAP or BiPAP machine would be at least one of the following documents:-

Copy of the diagnostic sleep study performed by a qualified sleep professional.
Letter written by a medical professional explaining the full diagnosis and the recommended treatment.
An Authorisation Form which we can provide for a sleep professional or sleep clinic staff member to complete approving CPAP therapy, and there are questions on the form for the clinician to complete if they require us to set up specific pressure settings etc.

Full information of how to provide the above proof we need is on every page of the CPAP Machines we supply and in our Terms & Conditions.

There are also different types of machines such as CPAP, BiPAP and Non-Invasive Ventilation and it is important that patients are issued with the correct machine, dependent on their medical history and specific diagnosis.

All of the CPAP Machines we sell or rent are supplied here in the UK - mostly from the manufacturers themselves, and all are used in the NHS Sleep Clinics, depending on which manufacturer's machines each clinic uses.