THE IRISH Coast Guard has put the Naval Service on standby to treat divers suffering from the “bends” due to the closure of a new recompression unit at Galway University Hospital.
The new Galway unit had been upgraded, but staffing issues are believed to have resulted in its closure for an indefinite period.
HSE West was unable to comment on the issue yesterday, but it is understood it is the second bank holiday weekend in a row the chamber was deemed to be “off line” for emergency purposes.
It is the only HSE-staffed chamber in the Republic, run with voluntary technical support provided by divers.
The Naval Service chamber at Haulbowline, Cork, has limited therapeutic facilities, with no X-ray or anaesthetist on site, according to the Coast Guard.
Other options for divers showing symptoms of decompression are Craigavon, Co Armagh, the Isle of Man or Plymouth in England. However, treatment is required within a critical window. Decompression sickness – nicknamed bends from one of the symptoms, an inability to bend joints – can occur if a diver ascends too quickly. Symptoms range from joint pain and rashes to paralysis and death.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a recompression chamber is the most effective form of treatment, and the Galway chamber, which closed in 2008, had been reopened earlier this year.
Two divers who went missing off the Muglins in Dublin Bay over the weekend were recovered by Howth Coast Guard. In a separate rescue incident, the Irish Coast Guard’s Dublin-based helicopter Rescue 116 winched two people from the water in Greystones, Co Wicklow, after their boat capsized. The two casualties were airlifted to Tallaght hospital.
