A part of the Republic of Singapore Navy, the Naval Medicine & Hyperbaric Centre, located at the Sembawang Naval Base along Admiralty Road.

This centre is recognised by the Divers Alert Network (DAN) as a vital medical care provider in our part of the world when treatment is needed in event of diving accidents.  It was therefore an asset to become aware of this important entity in our diving community.

This talk covered interesting topics like the physical causes & physiological effects of barotrauma (injuries due to changes in ambient pressure).  

Some recent cases of diving accidents were related to give participants an appreciation of how serious air embolism and decompression illness can be.

After a refreshment break, the group toured the actual facilities.  The Hyperbaric Centre itself is located in the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) within the Sembawang Base.  This is where the actual chambers are actually located and operated. 

Serving mainly the navy divers, it also treats patients of "compressed air illness" (construction workers in tunnelling projects), victims of diving accidents, as well as patients undergoing hyperbaric treatments for other ailments (like chronic ulcers from diabetes).

The first, probably most useful chamber was this one (see photo).  It was a 10-man chamber, but has many useful features.

The first and most obvious feature is an additional airlock at the end which allows other portable chambers to connected to it, so patients or diving personnel need not return to normal atmospheric pressure to enter it.