Hyperbaric chamber gets Department of Infrastructure funding

The Hyperbaric Chamber Medical Facility on the Isle of Man has been pledged annual funding of £12,000 by the Department of Infrastructure.

The three-year agreement also involves the department contributing up to £3,000 worth of technical support and materials a year.

In exchange DoI divers will be given access to emergency treatment and medical support.

The independent facility treats divers suffering from decompression sickness.

Pure oxygen

It has been operated by The Kevin Gray Memorial Trust since 1984, following the donation of a single chamber after the death of the local commercial diver.

In 2009 the Friends of the Hyperbaric Chamber, was set up to assist with fundraising.

The facility has a six-person chamber and a 12-person one.

It is also used in the treatment of badly injured road traffic accident victims and has been used to aid the recovery of TT riders who have been involved in crashes.

The chamber enables patients to breathe pure oxygen under pressure which forces out harmful nitrogen that may have entered the blood stream during a dive.

The pressurised oxygen has also been found to help repair damaged tissue and organs.