Why the reluctance to call for help?

[Arfie]

In light of Janos' posts there seems to be a lot of reluctance to call for help in a diving incident.

None of these posts were about definately going in the pot or even a helicopter trip, just about a call to the coastguard.

It wasn't even about if you were a casualty, but just were you on the boat where an incident occured.

Not only was there reluctance by some people to call the coastguard but some people are reluctant to even let the skipper or anyone else call. And my favourite would not only hide symptoms but refuse to take O2 until back on land.

It really confuses me as to why.

So it is:

• Are too proud to risk the helicopter?
• Do you think you know enough to make a call?
• Do you think you can better diagnose, than the coastguard/diving doc?
• What do you lose by calling the coastguard?
• If you take charge, refuse to call in and you get it wrong would you be happy to take the (financial) consequences?
• Not me, I'd call or leave it to the skipper.

I was gonna do it as a poll, but I couldn't be arsed

Arfie

[Mark Chase]

Have you ever done it?


First off your kits on the boat and your cars in the car park. Then they chopper you off from 10miles off Brighton and You HOPE your going to whips cross in north London but it might be Plymouth.

So you get to Plymouth and they do the pre checks and say your fine and send you home.

But your in Plymouth and your kits in Brighton and you live in Birmingham and your wearing an under suit and no shoes.

Or they say you need a treatment and your in the Pot for 6 hours THEN they send you home but your still in Plymouth and your kits in Brighton and you live in Birmingham and your wearing an under suit and no shoes.

Did i mention you have no money on you?


Thats a major PITA just because you strained your elbow


ATB

Mark

[Arfie]

Have I ever done it? No. Would I hesitate to go to the pot, I certainly hope not. If I got stuck 300 miles from the car with no money, I'd call a mate to come fetch me, in fact I'd hope my buddy was already sorting it for me while I was in the helicopter, rather that than risk something more serious.

The original questions were never about you hurting your elbow, it was about calling the coastguard for any casualty. It was also as I've pointed out above, not about taking the casualty to the pot just about making the call fro their advice.

If you are sure you've only sprained your elbow, why the need for O2?

If a doc thinks you need 6 hours in the pot, why are you more bothered about being in your undersuit?

In the thread about various types of incidents to someone else you wouldn't call the CG in any of them, even though you admit that some would worry you! If they worry you why the hell would you NOT call the CG?

I would assume (maybe incorrectly) that if you are the "casualty" you have the right to refuse treatment? So you personally can still refuse to take a trip if you think you know better.

Arfie

[Mark Chase]

Because I don't know that its just a strain so I suck o2 for 30mins the pain goes away I stop sucking 02 the pain comes back, I call the chopper.

I have sucked 02 many many times.

I have yet to call the chopper.

I have had three sesions in a hyperbaric chamber. Two for carbon monoxide poisening and one for a suspected bend that wasn't. I went in with a pain they blew me down and it still hurt. = physical injury not DCI.

I am 44 and I ache a lot after most dives

I like to be able to have time on 02 to analise the problem and ensure i am not bent. I hate it when nosy skippers threaten to phone it in just because i am being cautious.


ATB

Mark

[DevonDiver]

There is a well documented history of divers denying that they have DCI...with easy to appreciate psychological reasons to do so. However, there is also a wealth of information proving that any significant delay to recompression treatment can have a significant impact on post-treatment recovery.

Check out this very good presentation..... "Bends Is Not A Dirty Word"

(I use this presentation as a supplement to my rescue courses)

[DevonDiver]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

Because I don't know that its just a strain so I suck o2 for 30mins the pain goes away I stop sucking 02 the pain comes back, I call the chopper.

Of course - O2 treatment will not ALWAYS temporarily resolve the symptoms and shouldn't be relied upon as a definitive method for DCS diagnosis.

If symptoms resolve when on O2, then you know you have a bend. If they don't, then you may still have a bend.

[purple vonny]

Originally Posted by Mark Chase

I hate it when nosy skippers threaten to phone it in just because i am being cautious.


ATB

Mark

How to handle a potential or real bend is something I've discussed a few times recently. You might have just worded that a bit wrong, but the skippers I work with are concerned for their diver's welfare, rather than being "nosey"!

I know at least 2 skipppers who have had the stress of going through inquests and investigations that have lasted a long time. It's quite a stressful job. And the mental agony of knowing you should have called the coastguard and didn't must be hard to live with.

If someone has missed a stop or had a rapid ascent, it is always wise to call for advice. To my knowledge, no diver has ever come back to the skipper and complained about being looked after.

[Scubee]

Feel a bit achy after a dive... you must be bent.... into the pot you go
Feel fine after a dive? Denial..... you must be bent... into the pot you go

Some skippers I use have a rule - they have O2 and you are welcome to use it, and, indeed sort of encourage you to. However, they also say if you go on the O2, the CG is called.

Which seems fair enough to me.

[nigelH]

Originally Posted by Arfie

In light of Janos' posts there seems to be a lot of reluctance to call for help in a diving incident.

As soon as it is an incident we call. Never a problem.

The questions in Janos's poll were 'are they an incident or not?'

If I have a headache is it an incident?
If I bang my knee on the ladder is it an incident?
Miss a safety stop, a couple of minutes of 'real' stops?

The question was where do we draw the line not do we call.

[deepestandy]

It took me three days of having a niggle in my elbow and bicep before I realized I had a hit. I rang the pot, they said come down and i was being recompressed within the hour. When they blew me down the pain in the bicep went and over the next hour or so the elbow pain had gone... It WAS a hit.

I suppose the reason I didn't make the call is because coupled with the denial I was suffering with and the genuine belief that it could have been a strain I guess I didn't want to waste anybodies time. However faced with the same decision again I would defiantly make the call much earlier, my point is though that I think this should be either the casualties, the casualties regular buddy or the skippers call to make.

Andy