How to Choose a HBOT Supplier

Essential Safety Questions

Nothing is more important than safety, which is why it is first on the list. Mild HBOT is an inherently safe therapy, however there are some claims and practices that are potential safety issues. Here’s what to look for (and avoid)…

Is HBOT safe for your customer? Medical safety screening.

While HBOT is safe for most people, there are a small number of people with specific health issues or backgrounds who should NOT receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

It is critically important that as a business offering HBOT that you ensure you have a customer intake process, and that medical safety screening is in place before ANYONE receives hyperbaric therapy. This will identify contraindications that indicate that HBOT should not be used because it may be harmful to the person.

The vast majority of businesses selling Hyperbaric Chambers are NOT able to provide this support. In fact, there are many just selling standalone chambers, with none of the safety critical backup and support required for safe and effective hyperbaric therapy.

This is like selling someone without a pilot’s licence a plane, and then leaving them to fly it home!

Henshaw Hyperbarics has been working with the world’s top Hyperbaric Doctors for many years and offer all business customers access to a client intake process and medical safety screening system.

Medical safety screening – Doctor support?

A good supplier and partner will not only be able to provide you with a medical safety screening, but they will also have doctor support available to back it up.

Some simply recommend that “It’s important to consult a medical professional before undergoing HBOT” but offer no support and don’t have existing relationships with Hyperbaric Doctors. These are empty ‘weasel’ words designed to try and deflect any future liability.

We believe that this is so important that if you come across a HBOT chamber supplier who doesn’t offer screening, and back it up with Doctor support and Hyperbaric Doctor consultations (when required), you should seriously question if they are the right business to safely support your customers and your business.

Without Doctor support, can you safely deliver HBOT? If your supplier doesn’t offer this vital level of support, safe delivery is probably not possible.

Henshaw Hyperbarics has a long standing relationship with world leading Hyperbaric Doctors so that our business customers can give their customers access to medical support. 

Greater than 1.5 ATA chamber pressure – an accident waiting to happen?

Mild hyperbaric therapy is typically between 1.3 ATA and 1.5 ATA and is very safe (and effective) at these levels.

Some chamber suppliers happily advertise chambers that can deliver HBOT at pressures up to 2 ATA (2 x atmosphere) – with no support or safeguards to manage the risks that come with 2 ATA chambers such as decompression sickness (the bends) – a serious and potentially fatal condition.

While there is certainly a place for hyperbaric chambers at up to 2 ATA (we have several models with this capability in our range), at anything over 1.5 ATA it is crucially important that the business, organisation and people delivering HBOT have the right skills and certification – such as from IBUM (International Board of Undersea Medicine).

IBUM exists to train recompression chamber operators, Diving Medical Technicians, Advanced Diving Medical Technicians, Intermediate Hyperbaric Technicians, Advanced Clinical Hyperbaric Technicians and Hyperbaric Physicians.

Commissioning and supporting a chamber capable of 2 ATA requires expert support from highly experienced and qualified HBOT experts.

Is your potential supplier able to fully support the safe installation and training to safely support the operation of a Hyperbaric Chamber that can achieve greater than 1.5 ATA?

Henshaw Hyperbarics have fully qualified and highly experienced HBOT experts on the team who are able to commission, train and support businesses and their teams on safe deliver of HBOT between 1.3 and 2 ATA.

Important Quality Questions

Many inferior quality hyperbaric chambers with poor (or non-existent) support are being offered for sale in the UK by small companies who make often false claims about certification, manufacturing and approvals.

Many of these businesses are recent entrants with a ‘box shifter’ mentality who will try selling chambers to see if they can make a quick buck, before moving on to something else when they realise that the safe supply of quality chambers and ongoing support requires a massive commitment to quality and safety in every aspect of their business.

Quality doesn’t just impact on the reliability and performance of your hyperbaric chamber, and the support that you get – it can also have important safety implications.

Here are some important questions and challenges to raise with any potential HBOT supplier…

ISO 9001 Accreditation – quality management system certification

We have seen examples of businesses selling chambers online claiming that they have ISO accreditation – when they do not.

They claim ISO accreditation but in practice they are referring to an accreditation that their supplier may have, rather than one they hold themselves. 

Not only is this a red flag (as they are being more than economical with the truth) it also means that there is NO accreditation in place for their own quality and service practices.

ISO 9001 is a trusted way to see if a company has made the commitment to put substantial time, effort and investment into making sure their product and/or service conforms to the highest quality and safety standards.

In simple terms, ISO 9001 is a standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system.

Companies should be able to provide you with a copy of a valid certificate to show their ISO compliance, can they?

Henshaw Hyperbarics have invested heavily in gaining ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certification for quality and safety so you can partner with us with confidence – you can find them here.

Accreditations and approvals – are they real?

In addition to false claims about ISO accreditation, you may also find websites displaying  ‘accreditation’ logos such as the FDA logo, a CE logo or UKSA logo.

These are displayed to create the impression that the business is somehow accredited, approved or certified by these bodies. These are almost certainly either not true or specifically displayed to create an illusion of ‘quality’ that is undeserved.

Here are the facts about the most commonly displayed accreditation logos…

FDA logo – this logo is presumably displayed to imply that the business and/or products are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (a US government body).

Gaining FDA approval is an incredibly challenging process, often taking many years and costing hundreds of thousands or millions to achieve.

They may argue that they display the FDA logo as the FDA approve Hyperbaric Therapy as for 13 different conditions (this is true – they do), but if the FDA ever became aware that they were displaying their logo on their website in the UK they would almost certainly commence legal action.

Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers have been working towards FDA approval in the USA for several years and are now in the final stages of the process. We do not display the FDA logo and will not until we complete the approval process. Any business that does should be challenged as it’s highly unlikely that they or their chambers have FDA approval. This is a deceptive practice.

CE mark, UKCA mark – you may come across websites displaying these marks. We believe this is done to create the impression that the business and products have achieved a quality accreditation.

The CE mark and UKCA mark demonstrate that a product or service meets basic legal requirements. The CE and UKCA marks are often mandatory for market access.

CE mark – the BSI (British Standards Institution) explains it this way – The CE mark proves that a product meets minimum legal safety, health and environmental protection requirements to be placed on the market within any EU member state. The product can be manufactured anywhere in the world, but if it is a product that falls under EU law, for example a medical device, it must carry this mark to be sold within the European Union.

This usually means that the businesses chamber supplier has gained the CE mark. It doesn’t refer to any particular accreditation that business (as a reseller) has gained themselves.

UKCA mark – the BSI explains the UKCA this way – The UKCA mark has been introduced since the UK left the European Union and replaces the CE mark for certain products being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Like the CE mark, it demonstrates that a product meets necessary legal requirements.

Once again, this will be gained by the businesses chamber supplier so they can export chambers to the UK.

Businesses proudly displaying these marks could be accused of trying to win kudos for something that is a minimum legal requirement, and often something that their supplier had to achieve to export to the UK or EU, not something they achieved themselves as a reseller.

This practice is questionable and raises another ‘red flag’ about the integrity of the supplier.

Henshaw Hyperbaric chambers have both the CE and UKCA marks on all our chambers. We do not display logos for accreditations or approvals that we don’t have – or imply that CE and UKSA marks are something special. We are happy to show all customers our hard-earned ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certificates. You can find them here. When we have earned FDA approval, we will proudly state this, but not before. These accreditations and approvals require and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to quality and occupation health and safety.

Understanding the risks

A ‘cheap’ Hyperbaric Chamber can soon become anything but cheap if the company standing behind the chamber is lightweight when it comes to important things like product liability insurance, their financial stability and their overall commitment to their customers.

After all, it’s easy to sell a chamber ‘cheap’ if you cut corners and strip away all the essential layers of support required to enable safe and effective HBOT. Here’s what to look for…

Product Liability Insurance – another ‘red flag’?

When it comes to supplying, delivering, installing and supporting hyperbaric chambers it is common to see the all-important aspect of product liability handled in two ways.

Either there is no mention at all of what insurance cover is provided (presumably because the business has none) or the terms and conditions include a clause something like this…

‘The Customer is responsible for ensuring they have appropriate insurance cover, with minimum coverage as dictated by UK law, for any potential liability arising from the use of the HBOT.’

Whether a customer is a home-user, business or organisation, it is highly unlikely that they have insurance cover for this scenario. This is simply a way of ducking responsibility and avoiding a hefty insurance premium for the supplier.

Another snippet from an exhaustive list of ‘Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability’ concludes with ‘our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.’

By the way, these examples are both real and taken from two company’s websites. At least they spell it out, some don’t bother to cover it at all. Some don’t even publish their address or a proper phone number.

When you read the ‘small print’ and see a business aggressively avoiding any liability we think it should be a huge red flag.

Either of those situations should set alarm bells ringing as it indicates a business that does not take it obligations and responsibilities seriously and may be another reason why a seemingly ‘cheap’ chamber is underpriced because important corners are being cut.

No business can accept liability for everything, but a good business will have sensible terms and conditions, that are fairly weighted, and they will be prepared to pay for the expensive insurance premiums to back them.

Henshaw Hyperbarics invests over £20,000 a year in comprehensive product liability insurance for your protection and peace of mind. We are happy to share with you what is (and isn’t) covered. We will never ask you to secure your own insurance for risks that we should insure.

The Difference Between Price and Value

Sometimes we’re asked – ‘why don’t you display prices on your website?’.

It’s an understandable question, as other company’s do and it seems like the right thing to do.

But, and there is a big ‘but’, displaying a price for a chamber is another red flag as it marks out the ‘box shifters’ – companies who see the growing awareness and popularity of HBOT and decide to jump in what they perceive as a trend.

The reality is that every business and every customer has different needs and requirements – it’s not just different chambers and associated equipment, but the installation, risk assessments, initial and ongoing training, user and technical support, Doctor and medical support, and operational support such as engineers, spare parts, service level agreements and warranties.

Two businesses or organisations could end up with identical chambers, and because of the use, the location, the expertise and size of the team – could have very different needs and requirements.

That’s why every Henshaw HBOT chamber is provided as part of a bespoke package, customised for the needs of the business, organisation or sports club.

Yet another ‘red flag’ – selling ‘cheap’ off the web…

Selling Hyperbaric Chambers ‘off the web’ as a supposedly simple website transaction is, we believe, not only misleading – but can be downright dangerous as vital elements of reliable, safe and successful long-term operation can be missed – potentially turning a fundamentally safe therapy into one that carries risks that could and should be managed.

And without the right pre-purchase user case scoping, risk assessments, site assessments and support package – a supposedly ‘cheap’ chamber can quickly become a very expensive mistake and a long term (and potentially dangerous) liability.

That’s why we believe the focus must be on delivering outstanding value, not a ‘cheap’ sticker price designed to flush out a few sales from the unsuspecting and unaware.

Purchases which can quickly turn sour when the true costs of the ‘cheap’ deal become all too apparent.

Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers will rarely, if ever, be the absolute cheapest (at first glance) – however our deep and passionate commitment to delivering extraordinarily value means that you can trust Henshaw to have the best interests of you, your organisation, your staff and your customers at heart.

We don’t, and won’t, cut corners – ever. The health and wellbeing of your customers and organisation is way too important for that. We believe that HBOT is an important therapy, that can enhance the lives and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of people who need to support a return to health, and to optimise their health, performance and wellbeing.

That’s something way too important (and risky) to sell ‘down to a price’.

Very few, if any, other companies offer the value that comes standard with Henshaw – a superbly constructed product, verified ISO 9001 quality, exceptional support from a team of real people and a company with a long track record.

Rather than offering the bare minimum to hit a ‘cheap’ price point, when you choose Henshaw you get the package you need to safely support your customers, and business or organisation over the long term, which represents true value.

We will rarely if ever be the absolute cheapest, but we believe that when you factor in design, quality, safety, support, service and the overall ownership experience we offer the best value on the market in the UK.

NEW SECTIONS START HERE – MUST APPLY NEW TEXT – IGNORE CURRENT TEXT

The Hyperbaric Professional Support System (HPSS) also gives you access to valuable tools, resources and support to develop and grow your practice.

This includes accreditation as a Henshaw Professional Partner, so that you can demonstrate a commitment to and the achievement of a credible set of standards.

Henshaw HPSS partners have access to HBOT specific business development workshops covering topics such as Getting Started, Marketing, Sales, Operations, the Henshaw Combined Approach (a multi-therapy approach) and much more.

This also covers an awareness and understanding of the specific administrative, legal and insurance requirements that you need to consider.

In addition, HPSS partners benefit from an Upgrade Pathway which allows your operational capacity to develop as your business or clinic grows.

Marketing and Sales

Henshaw recognise that creating a client base and building a sustainable business is a key element of creating a successful HBOT practice.

The Henshaw Professional Support System includes a high level of marketing and sales support for Henshaw partners. This includes…

• Getting Started – Marketing Pack

• Launch Programme – Support

• Open House HBOT Talks and Presentations – In Person and Online

• Marketing Collateral – Print and Online

• Lead Generation Strategies– to Attract Clients

• Conversion Support – Professional Sales Training

• Added Value Strategies – Ethically Offering Multiple Session programmes

• Lifetime Value Strategies -Ethical Cross selling, Upselling

• Referral Strategies – to Win More Clients

• Affiliate/Professional Referral Programme – to Enhance Your Earning Potential

• Membership Programme – Coming Soon with a Wellness Suite Offer

• Referrals – from Henshaw Hyperbaric Chambers and Wellness Tree Websites 

• Henshaw Locations – Your Locations/s Listed on the Henshaw Website

• Support with ASA/CAP Compliance – Advertising Standards Agency (ASA/CAP) Guidelines

Quality Assurance & Safety

While mild HBOT is an inherently safe therapy, and is safe for most people, there are a small number of people with specific conditions or backgrounds who should NOT receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Henshaw supports partners in the delivery of safe HBOT with the client intake process, medical safety screening and access to doctor support. These systems are designed to identify any contraindications that indicate when HBOT should not be used because it may be harmful to that person.

In addition, Henshaw gives partners the additional peace of mind and reassurance that comes from Henshaw holding two internationally recognised ISO accreditations. ISO is a trusted way to see if a company has made the commitment to put substantial time, effort and investment into making sure their product and/or service conforms to the highest quality and safety standards. They are…

ISO 9001:2015 Accreditation – quality management system certification. ISO 9001 is a standard that sets out the requirements for a quality management system.

ISO 45001:2018 certification – occupational health and safety standards. ISO 45001 accreditation is an international standard for occupational health and safety.

Produce Liability, Warranties and Service Level Agreements  

You need to be confident that your HBOT chambers come with a solid guarantee that covers regular business and professional use to ensure that your business doesn’t suffer should anything happen with your chamber.

You also need to ensure that the business offering the warranty is one of good standing – length of years in business and financial stability matter if it comes to the crunch.

Henshaw offers an industry-leading warranty for business and professional users.

This includes the option of comprehensive and extended service level agreements for professional clients, to give peace of mind for multiple years of operation. Henshaw warranties and optional service level agreements are backed by our highly experienced team.

Another important protection for Henshaw partners is the comprehensive product liability insurance that we hold for your protection and peace of mind.

No business can accept liability for everything, but we believe a good business will have sensible terms and conditions, that are fairly weighted, and that they will be prepared to pay for the expensive insurance premiums to back them.