Late and costing more, but ‘bends’ chamber welcomed

The chamber, which will be used to treat a number of conditions including decompression sickness, was expected to be operational by the end of 2018. It has since faced ‘unavoidable delays’ but is now expected to be available for use from next month.

The news had been welcomed by the diving community.

‘It is typical of a lot of things in Guernsey to take so long to do,’ said Steve Bougourd, the founder of Donkey Divers.

‘I think it was always bound to take longer than usual because like everything there are always plans but it takes about five years for it to be completed.

‘As a dive instructor, I’ve never had any of my divers need to use the chamber, but it is good to have it here just in case.

‘It will now be ready in case of any emergency, so it is better to have it here rather than having to travel to Jersey for it because of the charges of the rental we have at the moment.

‘But to be honest nine times out of 10 decompression sickness is caused by diver error and divers are taught how to dive properly, so touch wood I won’t need to use it.’

The chamber had an original quoted cost of £340,000.

‘The project to install the chamber at the hospital is expected to be completed before the end of July and we expect that it will be operational from that time,’ said a Health & Social Care spokesman.

‘The project has experienced some unavoidable delays, principally due to problems with the specially constructed container that houses the chamber.

‘It was discovered that the chamber required for Guernsey, together with the additional weight of its container, was too heavy to be safely lifted into position.

‘A new, bespoke container has now been designed to accommodate the hyperbaric chamber, which will be situated outside the Emergency Department at the hospital where it will be operated by specialist staff from that department.’

Until the new chamber is commissioned, the rental unit serving the island will continue to be utilised at the PEH, said the spokesperson.

On the price of the project, the spokeman said: ‘The cost of £340,000 was based on quotes for chambers that were available to purchase in 2013/14.

‘The reason for the £68,000 increase in the final cost of the project is due in part to an increase in manufacturing costs in the interim five years and also changes in the sterling/euro exchange rate as well as the construction of a bespoke chamber, which has been specifically manufactured for Guernsey.

[blob] IN June 2018, Health & Social Care took the decision to significantly revise the charges levied for divers needing to use the hyperbaric chamber.

Treatment requiring use of the chamber is now charged according to the Emergency Department ‘critical category’ treatment tier, plus £200 for each hour a user needs to be within the chamber itself.

Details can be found at: https://www.gov.gg/hyperbaricchamber.