The hyperbaric chamber, offered to the Algarve by the Association for the Promotion and Development of Underwater Tourism (Musubmar), and which cost 600 thousand euros, is already installed in the new wing of the Hospital Particular de Alvor, which is under construction.
The rector of the University of Algarve and the mayor of Portimão, with their respective delegations, were the first, last Friday, to see the chamber in what will be its definitive installation, a large room on the ground floor of the wing of the HPA, which is under construction and should start operating next September. The visit was accompanied exclusively by the Sul Informação.
Musubmar had offered the hyperbaric chamber, a fundamental equipment to treat accidents for divers looking for the Ocean Revival underwater tourism project, but also important for treating other pathologies, such as complications from diabetes or respiratory problems, at the Hospital do Barlavento Algarvio, in Portimão. In May of last year it was really gone signed a protocol between the administration of CHBA and Musubmar. The idea was that the chamber could be accessible in a public hospital unit, in order to facilitate access for the entire population.
However, when the Centro Hospitalar Algarvio was created, resulting from the merger of hospitals in Faro, Portimão and Lagos, the new administrator, Pedro Nunes, communicated the lack of interest in receiving this equipment, so Musubmar, which manages the Ocean Revival Project, had to find an alternative for the installation of the hyperbaric chamber, whose public tender for acquisition was already underway and even practically concluded.
Then came the possibility of installing it in the new wing of the Hospital Particular de Alvor, that is, in an appropriate location to be used, if necessary, by divers from all over the world looking for the underwater park created off Prainha, on the coast of Portimão, with the sinking of five decommissioned ships of the Portuguese Navy.
Luís Miguel Farinha, one of those responsible for the HPA Group and right-hand man of its founder, doctor João Bacalhau, revealed, during Friday's visit, that, in total, the installation of the hyperbaric chamber will cost 700 thousand euros, out of 600 one thousand needed for its purchase and another 100 thousand for the installation works at Hospital de Alvor. "There are some technical specificities to take into account in the works needed to install the chamber," explained one of the technical responsible for the construction of the new wing of the Hospital, who accompanied the visit of the rector.
«The overwhelming majority of the investment, which was the purchase of the hyperbaric chamber, is carried out by private individuals. And a hospital administrator comes to say that he does not need this, that this is of no interest to the National Health Service?...», commented Mayor Isilda Gomes, who has always vehemently criticized the option taken by Pedro Nunes, chairman of the Board of Directors of the CHA.
New research areas open now
In addition to the more immediate and well-known uses, the installation of the hyperbaric chamber at the Hospital Particular de Alvor could also foster new areas of scientific research in the area of Medicine. Ana Paula Fontes, consultant at the HPA Training Nucleus, who also accompanied the visit of the rector to the Alvor unit, stressed that "there are new challenges" that can be developed jointly by the HPA Group and the University of Algarve, namely in "research on oncology and dementias”, areas where “oxygen therapy could be very important”.
Dean António Branco responded to this challenge, saying that all these matters could be "deepen- ded", within the scope of the protocol that the Department of Medicine of the University of Algarve and the HPA Group will sign shortly.
And this protocol, which will allow, for now, the HPA units to start receiving medical internships (in Orthopedics, Obstetrics and Pediatrics) of UAlg Integrated Masters in Medicine students, may even be signed in Portimão, at its City Council , according to the invitation that the mayor Isilda Gomes did not fail to make right there.
Hyperbaric Chamber is at the service of the entire population
The hyperbaric chamber, capable of treating eight patients simultaneously, will have as its main purpose the treatment of victims of decompression accidents (divers), but also other pathologies such as carbon monoxide poisoning, sudden deafness, diabetic foot injuries and other chronic wounds , or burns. It will therefore be open to all users, not just divers.
Until now, whenever there are decompression accidents involving divers in the Algarve, the victims have to be transported to the Hospital da Marinha, in Lisbon, where the nearest unit operates. However, according to Luís Sá Couto, responsible for the «Ocean Revival» project, this does not guarantee the necessary safety for the development of the underwater park created off Alvor, which is intended to attract thousands of divers from all over Europe every year.
«To guarantee maximum safety, the acquisition, installation and hospital adaptation of a Hyperbaric Chamber is essential», stresses the businessman.
The chamber will thus be "at the service of divers, allowing a controlled pressure to be maintained in possible emergency situations", but "it will be mainly at the service of the local community and the country, thus constituting an important investment in health and ensuring, in short, other medicinal applications in other types of therapies'.
Luís Sá Couto, responsible for the Ocean Revival Project, explained to Sul Informação that, "in the protocol we signed with the HPA, we ensured that an agreement will be signed with the National Health Service, to make the camera available to NHS users." The equipment, said the official, will thus be «available for emergency situations in the Algarve».
In other words, thanks to the stubbornness of CHA administrator Pedro Nunes, an expensive but very important piece of equipment, which could have been installed in a public unit, is now going to stay in a private hospital.
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