The Barbados Defence Force

HYPERBARIC CHAMBER

THE BDF HYPERBARIC CHAMBER

 

 

Born out of a necessity for quick access to professional medical care for dive accidents, (the bends) the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Ministry of Health, the Tourist Board and the Barbados Defence Force (BDF)  collectively decided that Barbados should have a chamber of its own. The BDF is the home of one of the very few Hyperbaric Chambers in the region.

The chamber, which is a sealed vessel where the oxygen levels are higher than normal atmospheric pressure, is used for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat decompression sickness air embolisms, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, necrosis, thermal burns, anaemia, and diabetic wounds.