Divers Under Pressure at the BUPA Hospital
On Thursday 30th January 2003, four of us visited the Hyperbaric facility at the BUPA hospital in Anlaby, Hull. The visit was organised by Angie Bailey, who until recently worked full time at the chamber.
We were initially given a talk by a member of the chamber staff, on DCI, an overview on gas laws, and a look at some case studies. We saw how one diver, diving conservatively, within the limits of his computer, with additional safety stops, suffered a major DCI hit. With treatment, he made a good recovery, though still needed a stick to walk, and will not dive again.
The second case involved a diver who "was asking to be bent"! Having dived to 70m on air, which he promptly ran out of, he made a buoyant ascent to the surface. Despite treatment, this diver is paralysed from the waist down.
A contributing factor was the delay in receiving professional assistance, having been recompressed in a Police chamber initially, which ran out of oxygen, he was transferred to the BUPA chamber. By this time the damage had been done, though correct treatment did alleviate some of the divers symptoms.
The message was clear that professional treatment is needed, rather than enthusiastic amateur help in inappropriate facilities.
We then went into the chamber. For those of us expecting the traditional "Submarine" technology, we were to be disappointed. There are no spinning handles, or airlocks, merely a heavy, almost square, entrance door. The door is simply held closed, until the internal air pressure increases, and forces the door shut.
We were initially given a talk by a member of the chamber staff, on DCI, an overview on gas laws, and a look at some case studies. We saw how one diver, diving conservatively, within the limits of his computer, with additional safety stops, suffered a major DCI hit. With treatment, he made a good recovery, though still needed a stick to walk, and will not dive again.
The second case involved a diver who "was asking to be bent"! Having dived to 70m on air, which he promptly ran out of, he made a buoyant ascent to the surface. Despite treatment, this diver is paralysed from the waist down.
A contributing factor was the delay in receiving professional assistance, having been recompressed in a Police chamber initially, which ran out of oxygen, he was transferred to the BUPA chamber. By this time the damage had been done, though correct treatment did alleviate some of the divers symptoms.
The message was clear that professional treatment is needed, rather than enthusiastic amateur help in inappropriate facilities.
We then went into the chamber. For those of us expecting the traditional "Submarine" technology, we were to be disappointed. There are no spinning handles, or airlocks, merely a heavy, almost square, entrance door. The door is simply held closed, until the internal air pressure increases, and forces the door shut.
Angie accompanied us on our descent. We descended to 18m, and stayed there for approximately ten minutes. We noticed that even at this shallow depth, there was a noticeable change in every ones voice, due the increased air pressure affecting the vocal chords.
Liz took the opportunity to blow up a balloon at this depth. I tried on the oxygen hood, which felt very odd. It consists of a neck seal, similar to a drysuit, and ring. The hood is a clear soft plastic "bucket" which connects to the neck ring. Two hoses then connect the hood to the oxygen supply.
As we ascended, the temperature dropped, and a fog appeared in the chamber. We stopped briefly at 3m before finally "surfacing". Liz’s balloon had not burst but was now stretched to its maximum. It would finally succumb to too much pressure at a most inopportune moment - whilst she and Angie were looking round intensive care!
Thanks to Angie for organising what was a very interesting and informative visit. It was a shame more members did not take this opportunity to see the workings of a hyperbaric chamber. For those that missed the visit, lets hope the opportunity to see the inside of one does not coincide with their recent diving activities!
Chris Storey
Liz took the opportunity to blow up a balloon at this depth. I tried on the oxygen hood, which felt very odd. It consists of a neck seal, similar to a drysuit, and ring. The hood is a clear soft plastic "bucket" which connects to the neck ring. Two hoses then connect the hood to the oxygen supply.
As we ascended, the temperature dropped, and a fog appeared in the chamber. We stopped briefly at 3m before finally "surfacing". Liz’s balloon had not burst but was now stretched to its maximum. It would finally succumb to too much pressure at a most inopportune moment - whilst she and Angie were looking round intensive care!
Thanks to Angie for organising what was a very interesting and informative visit. It was a shame more members did not take this opportunity to see the workings of a hyperbaric chamber. For those that missed the visit, lets hope the opportunity to see the inside of one does not coincide with their recent diving activities!
Chris Storey