Quote:
| Originally Posted by Humber Coastguard Mark
I think you're getting the wrong end of the stick.
If a diver REQUESTS O2 there is a reason - the diver is worried that they may be liable to suffer from DCI, why else request O2? That fear may be real or imagined but who is to tell which? By informing the Coastguard should the diver's fears become reality we are prepared and can get the diver to a chamber in a much shorter time. That saved time could mean the difference between a full recovery and permanent paralysis or even death.
Let me emphasise, we do not tie up valuable SAR resources and recompression chambers just to piss off divers. If a diver doesn't need to go to a chamber he doesn't go.
Boat skippers who call the Coastguards are not putting diver's lives at risk, the only people who are doing that are the divers themselves.
If a diver is concerned about DCI he/she should dig their heads out of the sand and ENSURE that the Coastguard are informed.
Paul |
That’s not what I said. What I said is boat skippers who tell divers (as I have been told in the past) if you ask for 02 I am immediately sending for the chopper... are putting divers health / lives at risk.
If my arm hurts I go on 02
If my leg hurts I go on 02
If I feel dizzy I go on 02
If I feel tierd I go on 02
If my stomach feels bad I go on 02
I am 41 years old and having punched out on a boat for two + hours done a two hour dive and struggled to get back on a rocking and rolling boat with 60kg of equipment on my back I often have these symptoms. My arm hurt I go on 02. 20mins later... It still hurts then I have strained it. again
. My arm hurts I go on 02 the pain goes away I come off 02 the pain comes back I call for the chopper. The pain gets worse and worse I call for the chopper.
I keep and eye on my buddy after a dive he keeps an eye on me.
I mean no disrespect you are doing a fantastic job and all sea faring people are deeply indebted to you lads and lasses but are you a diver? People often ask me how you tell if you’re bent. I tell them all the same thing. When it happens trust me you WILL know. I have only spent 5 years doing deco diving of the UK cost but I have already witnessed my fare share of bent divers. There is NO mistaking the ones that need a helicopter ride.
ATB
Mark Chase