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Vital medical facility is opened at its new home
Thirty-five years ago one saved his life, so Richard Ibbotson was keener than most to see the navy's latest hyperbaric chamber.
The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet stepped inside the futuristic four-man tank at its opening at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester.
Vice Admiral Ibbotson was a junior officer in a ship off Gibraltar in the mid-1970s when a diving accident meant he needed treating in a similar chamber, which treats the condition known as 'the bends'.
He said: 'I don't know what would have happened without that facility but I was very grateful for it.
'This one looks similar from what I remember, and it's comforting to know it's up and running.'
The Hyperbaric Medicine Unit was formerly based at Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, but had to be moved when Haslar closed.
The MoD tried to place the pressurised facility in Queen Alexandra Hospital, but a problem with the building schedule meant it couldn't be installed.
But the St Richard's site is not seen as a problem, as it is thought civilian divers at Selsey and Brighton will use it more than the military.
Surgeon Commander Ravi Ramaswami said: 'The site here gives us good coverage for civilians along the south coast, so the move from Haslar has its advantages. Plus we have a smaller decompression chamber at the diving unit at Horsea Island, so we have cover for extreme cases.'
The chamber, owned by defence firm Qinetiq but paid for by the MoD, squeezes poisonous gas bubbles in the blood stream by increasing outside air pressure.
The facility can also treat NHS patients suffering from anything from carbon monoxide poisoning to a broken leg.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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