Orkney Chamber Covid 19 Arrangements

The Orkney Hyperbaric Unit has continued to operate throughout the Covid epidemic but there are some changes to our normal procedures. Whilst we would not expect anyone with symptoms to be diving, it is not impossible that some visiting divers may be carrying the virus without symptoms. To reduce the risk of introducing infection we are minimising the number of people in the chamber building. This means that we will only allow the diver involved in an incident into the building. All casualties will be tested for Covid infection with a swab before any recompression treatment. Inevitably there is a significant delay before we get the result of the swab, typically around 90-120 minutes. During this period we will treat the casualty with surface oxygen unless there is a critical clinical need for immediate recompression. During the treatment the attending nurse will wear PPE at all times including a face mask except when on BIBS. The diver being treated will also wear a face mask when not on BIBS. This is to minimise any risk of cross infection. We also have a number of additional measures in place to clean the chamber and the building. We hope that you all appreciate that these measures are designed to be for the benefit of everyone. We would ask that you all dive conservatively and give yourselves extra safety margins to minimise the risk of problems. We hope you enjoy your time diving in Orkney.