How to Contact a Hyperbaric Unit

[Humber Coastguard]

How to contact a Hyperbaric Unit in the UK

SEA DIVING
- Call the Coastguard on DSC or VHF channel 16 (24 hours)
- Or dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard (24 hours).

INLAND DIVING in England, Wales, N.Ireland
- Call the Royal Navy Doctor 07831 151523 (24 hours)

INLAND DIVING in Scotland
- Call Aberdeen Royal Infirmary 0845 408 6008 (24 hours)

These are the only numbers you need to know. The Duty Diving Doctor will be able to advise if recompression is required and if so which recompression chamber the diver should be taken to. The chamber will be category 1 with full medical back up.

For a Diving Safely Pack which includes a Diving Accident Management Flowchart and Diver Help Card e-mail your postal address to paul.chapman@mcga.gov.uk

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Humber Coastguard

How to contact a Hyperbaric Unit in the UK

These are the only numbers you need to know. The Duty Diving Doctor will be able to advise if recompression is required and if so which recompression chamber the diver should be taken to. The chamber will be category 1 with full medical back up.

[/email]

Or you can contact the chamber direct. If you are in East London you can just turn up at the casualty department at Whipps Cross and they will get you into the chamber there.

[Humber Coastguard]

Rod

Beware of turning up at a chamber only to find that the chamber is unavailable for whatever reason and being told you'll have to go elsewhere.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Humber Coastguard

Rod

Beware of turning up at a chamber only to find that the chamber is unavailable for whatever reason and being told you'll have to go elsewhere.

Which is why I suggested ringing the chamber first. I mentioned Whipps cross as they have a chamber on site and have taken people there in the past.
In London we are lucky to have at least 3 chambers that are available 24 hours. They are all multi occupancy and you would be very unlucky to find all 3 not working. You could ring London coastguard but they do not have a list of who is the on call chamber and would have to ring you back. So if you do ring the chamber yourself you save the time of three phone calls.

[Mark Powell]

Originally Posted by Rod

So if you do ring the chamber yourself you save the time of three phone calls.

Unless they are full.... in which case you have to call another one.

Or you could just call the RN duty diving doc which is the accepted procedure advocated by the diving organisations, coastguard, BDSG, etc

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Mark Powell

Unless they are full.... in which case you have to call another one.

As I said in London we are lucky to have at least three 24 hour multi occupancy chambers so the chances of them all being full are really remote if not non existant. It is obviously different at the coast or places where there is a lack of chambers or you do not know the numbers then coastguard is your best option.

[Humber Coastguard]

The intention of this posting is to STOP people turning up at a chamber without the chamber being aware of the casualty and being prepared to treat them.

Make one phone call - see numbers at start. The Duty Doctor will tell you if you need to go to a chamber in the first place and which chamber can take you. THIS IS THE PREFERRED METHOD BY THE HYPERBARIC UNITS.

Please don't post anymore about turning up at a chamber. See the start of the post. THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO IT.

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Humber Coastguard

THIS IS THE PREFERRED METHOD BY THE HYPERBARIC UNITS]

PM sent.

[Tony J]

Originally Posted by Humber Coastguard

THIS IS THE PREFERRED METHOD BY THE HYPERBARIC UNITS.

Please don't post anymore about turning up at a chamber. See the start of the post. THIS IS HOW YOU SHOULD DO IT.

I had a trip to my local chamber at Whipps Cross a couple of months ago. It was very interesting and they have 1 huge chamber and 1 small chamber available 24 hours a day. The Doctor there said that if you thought you had DCS you should ring the chamber direct on 07736 898066. You obviously should not just turn up unless you needed the casualty department maybe for oxygen.