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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.
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!
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