Imagine an emergency treatment unit run by unpaid volunteers which is available 365 days a year. This is the Galway decompression chamber, which has been in existence for 23 years with minimal State support.
Nicknamed "the washing machine" by several of its patients, the hyperbaric chamber at University College Hospital, Galway, has served the diving community well. It has also proved its worth in a range of ailments extending beyond divers' "bends". Modern chambers supplying oxygen at high levels can treat smoke inhalation, ulcers, gangrene and severe burns.
No better reason, then, for the State to support the construction of a new facility at UCHG which could be run on a commercial basis, according to Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT), the Irish Underwater Council. Addressing the Minister of State for Health and Children, Dr Tom Moffatt, at a conference in Galway at the weekend, Dr Noel O'Flynn of UCHG outlined the limitations of the unit and made a trenchant case for upgrading.
Dr O'Flynn runs the chamber in his own time, backed up by members of the Galway Sub-Aqua Club. The hospital supplies oxygen and a compressor. The voluntary effort amounts to about 500 man-hours a year.
In the last three to four years the chamber has treated 12 to 13 divers a year and an average of two cases of carbon monoxide poisoning. Until last year it also handled four to five other medical cases. The development of fish farming and other marine activities has increased the demand on it.
Although oil and gas exploration companies working off the west coast have their own emergency decompression units, there are occasions when the Galway chamber is called on.
"We have the advantage of the support of a major hospital with its own helipad and landing facilities," Dr O'Flynn says. If a new unit was developed to a commercial level, it could support its own running costs through medical insurance cover and provide a wide range of medical services, including the treatment of sports injuries. Ideally, it should be equipped with its own trained medical division.
"This chamber was set up by two UCHG consultants in 1976 who were very keen on diving, and it has continued to rely on the commitment of the diving community since," Dr O'Flynn says. "But when each initial therapy session can take five to six hours it is a lot to ask of volunteers. And when the State could gain a direct benefit, there is no better reason for State support."
Capital costs could run from £25,000 for a basic unit to £250,000 for a state-of-the-art facility. The main expense would be the running cost, according to Mick Loftus, press officer for CFT.
The council hasn't ruled out co-financing a new unit if it can win the support of the Department of Health, or a combination of Departments, given the benefits for tourism, marine and natural resources.