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Diver airlifted to Manx hospital NI diver chamber remains closed
(9 minutes later)
A diver in his 50s has been airlifted for hospital treatment on the Isle of Man. Northern Ireland's only NHS recompression chamber has still not opened despite being installed at the end of last year.
The new facility at Craigavon Area Hospital has been unused because of issues such as staff rotas.
Emergency staff had to fly a diver who got into difficulty off the County Down coast to hospital in the Isle of Man as the machine has not been commissioned.
The diver, aged in his 50s, is being treated in a hyperbaric chamber.
It provides recompression treatment for decompression illness.
The Bangor Coastguard said he was at a depth of 16m at Guns Island off Ballyhornan, County Down, when he had to surface quickly.The Bangor Coastguard said he was at a depth of 16m at Guns Island off Ballyhornan, County Down, when he had to surface quickly.
He was flown to Noble's Hospital after the incident on Thursday night.He was flown to Noble's Hospital after the incident on Thursday night.
Sammy Gordon, from the Portaferry lifeboat which answered the emergency call, said the man was confused and feeling ill.Sammy Gordon, from the Portaferry lifeboat which answered the emergency call, said the man was confused and feeling ill.
"He had been unconscious and was feeling rather poorly," he said."He had been unconscious and was feeling rather poorly," he said.
The diver is being treated in a hyperbaric chamber, which provides recompression treatment for decompression illness. The new recompression chamber at Craigavon was brought into the hospital last year, replacing one which had been in use since the 1970s.
On Wednesday, two divers were taken to the same hospital after getting into trouble close to the mouth of Strangford Lough. The health trust said staff had been trained on the new machine, but cannot use it until operational procedures such as rotas are worked out.
The latest incident happened just after 2000 BST when the diver who had been accompanied by two others was forced to come to the surface for an as yet unspecified reason. It hopes the chamber will be available at the end of August.
A mayday message was sent by the diveboat which was picked up by the coastguard in Liverpool.
Portaferry lifeboat and a paramedic team were sent to the scene, and after assessing the diver and giving them oxygen, the Irish Air Corps was asked to fly the man to the Isle of Man.