# What response times should a medical gas maintenance contract set?

**What response times, visit frequencies and reports should a hospital medical gas maintenance contract set?**

Under HTM 02-01 (2026) Part B, the NHS England guidance, the maintenance contractor should run a call-out service 24 hours a day, contact the Authorised Person within one hour of an emergency call, and attend emergencies affecting supply or patient safety within a time set in the contract, with four hours recommended as the maximum.

## Emergency call-out under HTM 02-01 (2026)

Chapter 11 of Part B asks the contractor for an efficient and effective call-out service for any breakdown or other incident between planned maintenance visits, available 24 hours per day, 365/6 days per year. The healthcare organisation should set out the call-out procedure in its MGPS operational policy, agreed with the contractor and included in the contract documents: typically who contacts the contractor, how an official order for the work is generated and authorised, and how access to the site is obtained at all times.

| Step | HTM 02-01 (2026) Part B |
|---|---|
| Call back | Within a maximum of one hour of receiving an emergency call, the contractor's Competent Person (MGPS) should contact the site Authorised Person (MGPS) to confirm the nature and extent of the problem and give an estimated arrival time (11.87) |
| Attendance | For emergencies where the supply has been, or will likely be, interrupted, or where patient safety will be affected, the contractor should attend site within a maximum time specified in the maintenance contract; a maximum response time of four hours is recommended (11.88) |
| Considerations for the time | The location of the healthcare organisation, the number of its Authorised and Competent Persons (MGPS) and the availability of technical guidance (11.88) |
| Spares | The contractor should maintain a reasonable stock of spares for emergency call-outs; on large sites it is appropriate to hold a stock on site (11.91) |

## Visits

The contractor should carry out the services on the dates or at the intervals specified in the contract. Part B gives a schedule of minimum tasks in paragraphs 11.104 to 11.222, to be modified for each site and for the manufacturers' recommendations, and its frequencies should be viewed as a minimum requirement only; see [what maintenance a medical gas pipeline needs](https://library.ultracontrolo.com/answers/what-maintenance-does-a-medical-gas-pipeline-need/). Where possible, and excluding emergency call-outs, maintenance should be scheduled on weekdays during the organisation's normal working hours, with any out-of-hours work provided for in the main contract, and the contractor should arrange access with the Authorised Person at least one week before each visit. The sample maintenance contract in Appendix C leaves the visit frequency, the maximum call-out response time, the maximum time to attend site and the number of working days allowed for the visit report to be filled in by each organisation.

## Reports and monitoring

A signed and dated report form should be completed after every visit and after any work. Among other details it records whether the work was planned maintenance, a breakdown or an emergency call-out (with the breakdown as reported, its cause and the action taken), the spares used, and any further work required with its urgency. A maintenance log or plant history record should be maintained for each plant item. The Authorised Person should check the contractor's staff and performance on a random basis and, on a large site, it may be desirable to carry out a maintenance audit at least every six months; the contractor's agreed attendance at progress meetings should form part of the contract. For new contractors, Part B suggests that specifications consider the monitoring and setting of service quality targets, for example key performance indicators.

## Oxygen plants: WHO, UNDP and Global Fund

For oxygen generator plants, WHO's Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (December 2024) ask for a warranty of at least 1 year from commissioning with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week remote support for manufacturer defects and terms stating the time-to-response for on-site intervention. They suggest a service level agreement with a qualified provider authorized by the manufacturer that sets the time-to-response for remote support and for on-site intervention and the timeline for critical spares to reach the point of intervention. UNDP (REQ-OXY-001, effective 1 January 2025) says the SLA must specify response times for emergency repairs, scheduled maintenance intervals, spare parts availability and technical support responsibilities. Global Fund service contract guidelines (20 May 2024) ask for the timeframe within which the supplier responds to remote support requests, the steps if it does not, an escalation procedure, and the maximum time allowed to submit a service report after each visit.

### Does HTM 02-01 fix the emergency response time?

It leaves the maximum attendance time to the maintenance contract, listing the site's location, its number of Authorised and Competent Persons and the availability of technical guidance as considerations, and recommends a maximum response time of four hours.

### How soon should the contractor call back after an emergency call?

Within a maximum of one hour, under HTM 02-01 (2026) Part B, to confirm the problem and give an estimated arrival time.

## Sources

- [NHS England, HTM 02-01 (2026 edition) Part B, chapter 11 (paras 11.21, 11.59 to 11.63, 11.74 to 11.102) and Appendix C](https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/health-technical-memorandum-02-01-medical-gas-pipeline-systems-part-b-operational-management-aug-26.pdf)
- [WHO, Technical specifications for health facility based medical oxygen systems (December 2024), oxygen generator plants, lines 40 and 42](https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/ff437601-add3-44c8-8149-b85f0cdb2b52/content)
- [UNDP, REQ-OXY-001 v01, Technical and regulatory requirements for oxygen plants (effective 1 January 2025)](https://healthimplementation.undp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/REQ-OXY-001-v01-UNDP-TECHNICAL-REGULATORY-REQUIREMENTS-FOR-OXYGEN-PLANTS.pdf)
- [Global Fund / Build Health International, Overview: Oxygen Plant Service Contract Guidelines (20 May 2024)](https://resources.theglobalfund.org/media/aeddhtsy/cr_c19rm-oxygen-plant-service-contract_overview_en.pdf)

Reviewed: 2026-10-23. Ultra Controlo engineering. https://library.ultracontrolo.com/answers/what-response-times-should-a-medical-gas-maintenance-contract-set/