Oxygen is crucial for human survival, without it breathing becomes impossible. However, people with certain illnesses such as emphysema and asthma are unable to breathe in enough oxygen naturally and require supplemental oxygen to breathe properly.

This is where supplemental oxygen (or oxygen therapy) comes in for patients having breathing problems. By providing healthcare suppliers and facilities with oxygen equipment  such as oxygen concentrators and liquid oxygen, users can experience a better quality of life.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the oxygen supply chain for medical oxygen suppliers in the UK was severely impacted, causing major delays in oxygen equipment and supplies to healthcare facilities.

Understanding the global distribution process of oxygen equipment became a hot topic and governmental bodies stepped in to ensure that Medical Oxygen Suppliers worldwide were able to safely and quickly distribute oxygen to end users in the UK and abroad.

Oxygen Supply Chain

The global distribution process is quite involved and has many moving components. If any of the steps encounter any problems, it can delay the entire supply chain of oxygen to end users.

The steps involved in the global distribution process include:

1. Distillation process of air into liquid oxygen at large manufacturing facilities.

2. Transportation and distribution of liquid oxygen to oxygen conversion facilities.

3. Oxygen is converted into a compressed gaseous form and transferred to cylinders to be used in healthcare facilities or, for patients at home.

4. Transportation and distribution to medical facilities or medical oxygen suppliers who then provide it to end users. 

Importance of Strengthening the Oxygen Supply Chain

Looking back, it’s easy to see why oxygen gas suppliers experienced a shortage of medical oxygen and were unable to fulfill the demand of hospitals and medical suppliers during the pandemic. These issues and complications should be treated as lessons to learn and improve upon.

The pandemic exposed weak spots in the global distribution process and affected the oxygen supply chain dramatically. Factors such as production schedules, transportation, and infrastructural challenges were all contributing factors. Understanding and learning from these weak points can help build a better system.

Since the pandemic public and private sector organizations have been trying hard to tackle the challenges in the international oxygen supply chain to make it run more efficiently. 

ANP Pharma is a leading exporter of pharmaceuticals and medical oxygen to Africa, and the Middle East, in addition to many other destinations worldwide. For more information on our services, please click here.