New Hyperbaric Chamber on Koh Tao, Thailand
On 9 October 2006, the Badalveda Diving Medicine Network opened a new hyperbaric chamber on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. Koh Tao is one of the most popular diving destinations in the world with over 70,000 diving visitors annually.
In the past, anyone suffering from Decompression Illness (DCI) had to be evacuated via speedboat to the island of Koh Samui — approximately two to three hours away. It wasn’t an ideal situation as patients could be subjected to delays due to bad weather or the lack of adequate light at night.
Located within the Koh Tao Physician Clinic at Sairee Beach, the chamber is a Sechrist 2500 Monoplace fitted with an internal air mask. Maximum depth is 2.8 ATA and the treatment tables used include USN (US Navy) Table 6, Table 5, and HART Table. With a full-time nurse present, the clinic also has rooms where patients can be placed for observation after treatment.
This is the fifth chamber in the Badalveda Network that already has hyperbaric facilities in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and Koh Samui.
Badalveda’s chief Diving Medical Officer is Dr. Suriya Na Nagara — head of the Underwater Medicine Division of the Royal Thai Navy. He also heads Badalveda’s training in diving medicine and the physicians and nursing staff at the new Koh Tao facilities.
The facility manager is Robert Armington (Bob) — a Certified Hyperbaric Technoligst (CHT) and a commercial diver with nearly 30 years of experience in diving and hyperbaric medicine. A new Emergency Medic, Stephen McGovern, will assist for both diving and non-diving incidents.
On a 24-hour standby, the chamber is supported by Bangkok Samui hospital on the neighbouring island of Koh Samui, which can provide both helicopter or speedboat evacuations for the more serious medical emergencies (Badalveda also has a chamber at the Bangkok Samui hospital).
The Badalveda Diving Medicine Network has established a new member card system exclusively for Koh Tao. For just US$3.00, divers can become members of the chamber and be fully covered for hyperbaric treatment on the island for a week. If the members then need to come to the chamber and has no insurance, they will be treated completely free of charge.
For more information about the Koh Tao hyperbaric chamber, you can call one of the Diving Emergency Hotline numbers below, or contact Badalveda’s Marketing Manager Rowan Sanderson at rowan@bgh.co.th.
Koh Tao Hyperbaric Chamber — Badalveda Diving Medicine Network
24 hr Diving Medicine Hotlines
Koh Tao / Koh Samui / Koh Phangan
Tel: +66 (0)86 272 4618 or +66 (0)85 792 0135
Nationwide Emergency Number +66 (0)81 98 99 482