There is still no news on when the Isle of Man Hyperbaric Chamber will re-open, four months after it suspended its services.

While the two chambers are out of action, the government’s harbours division has revealed that it is hiring a chamber for its dive team at a cost of £10,000 a month.

We reported in June that the facility, in Peel Road, Douglas, had been forced to suspend its services temporarily after an inspection revealed both chambers required immediate attention.

At the time, Dean Cooke, manager of the Kevin Gray Memorial Trust, which runs the facility, said that parts had been sent to the UK ’where replacements will be fabricated, which takes a large amount of time’.

Maintenance

Engineers carried out an inspection on July 17 and the Kevin Gray Memorial Trust is waiting for their report.

’When you start maintenance, you fnd another thing and another,’ said Robin Hynes, secretary of the trust.

’We are waiting for a report from the engineer, it is such a specialist area nothing happens in a hurry.’

The island’s hyperbaric chamber has been in operation since 1984.

It provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy to divers and others who are suffering from injuries and long term chronic conditions.

Patients have included some of the island’s top sporting names, including cyclist Mark Cavendish, TT rider Conor Cummins and triple World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea.

At one stage it treated almost 100 patients a day. By the time of its closure around 45 people were uisng the chamber every day.

In the meantime, in the case of an emergency, a helicopter will be called to take the casualty to the Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC) in Plymouth.

Because the harbours division’s diving team and contractors require ready access to a chamber, the Department of Infrastructure was obliged to hire a chamber in the short term.

Mr Hynes added: ’Quite a few people are clamouring to have the service resumed.’

The cost of repairs is also unknown as yet.