Hospital chamber unveiled
A new hyperbaric chamber costing about £500,000 - which will serve the whole of the eastern region - was unveiled on Friday at Gorleston's James Paget University Hospital.
A new hyperbaric chamber costing about £500,000 - which will serve the whole of the eastern region - was unveiled on Friday at Gorleston's James Paget University Hospital.
The facility looks much like an aircraft cabin and the first patient to “board” before the official launch by Lowestoft MP Bob Blizzard was Beccles pensioner Tom Clark, a diabetic being treated for poor circulation.
Once seated inside, his treatment involved breathing oxygen in a pressurised environment equivalent to a water depth of 14 metres.
Consultant anaesthetist Dr Bob Mann said such oxygen therapy promoted better circulation and helped the healing process.
You may also want to watch:
In Mr Clark's case it was a real lifeline as he had already had one leg amputated because of his condition - it was hoped the treatment would help save his other limb.
The 70-year-old, who said he had suffered from small-blood-vessel disease as a consequence of being on insulin for 56 years, vouched for the fact that circulation in his foot had improved since treatment began.
Most Read
- 1 Police called after elderly, sick seal attacked with stones
- 2 The budget: Great Yarmouth estate to receive £860,000
- 3 Where sewage is being emptied in rivers and waters around Yarmouth
- 4 More than 31,000 tickets sold for Fire on the Water
- 5 All you need to know about Yarmouth's first fair in the park
- 6 This pub can be included on your Trick or Treat round
- 7 Where can you see Father Christmas in the borough?
- 8 New boost for the Wellesley
- 9 Public meetings to be held over 665-home bid
- 10 Mother and daughter celebrate multi-generation graduation
Dr Mann said the chamber, which has replaced a much smaller one, would be used to treat dozens of patients with a range of conditions.
As well as diabetics, others to benefit would include divers with decompression illness and patients suffering from carbon-monoxide poisoning, as well as those with certain life-threatening infections.
Some problems after radiation therapy and plastic surgery could also benefit from the oxygen.
Dr Mann said one of the nearest similar facilities in East London had been used to treat the injuries of professional footballers. “West Ham have even attributed it to keeping them in the Premiership as it helped them get Argentinian star Carlos Teves back to fitness quickly at the end of last season,” he said.
Constant medical cover for the hyperbaric service is provided by consultants at the JPH from A&E, the intensive-care unit and anaesthetics.
The chamber, which was craned into place before Christmas, is a public-private initiative with London Hyperbaric and Wound Healing Centres, which has bought the equipment.
