British Hyperbaric Association:

Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment (HBOT) involves delivery of 100% Oxygen inside a treatment chamber at a pressure greater than sea level.  There are both monoplace and multiplace chambers available across the UK.  The service centres are not evenly distributed on a geographical basis, and they provide different categories of services:

Category 1

  • Facilities should be capable of receiving patients in any diagnostic category who may require Advanced Life Support either immediately or during HBOT.

Category 2

  • Facilities should be capable of receiving patients in any diagnostic category who are judged by the referring medical officer not to be likely to require Advanced Life Support during HBOT.

Category 3

  • Facilities should be capable of receiving emergency referrals of divers and compressed air tunnel workers;
  • These facilities should also be capable of providing elective treatment of residual symptoms of decompression illness;
  • Patients may be accepted, in the name of the Medical Director (whose role is defined in paragraph 24 of the Cox Report, 1994), even when no Hyperbaric Duty Doctor is available at the time of referral provided, in the view of the referring clinician, the patient’s condition demands immediate action;
  • This does not obviate the need for discussion with the Hyperbaric Duty Doctor who should attend the patient as soon as is practicable.

Category 4

  • Facilities should be capable of receiving elective and emergency referrals of patients in any diagnostic category who are judged by the referring medical officer, on the advice of the Hyperbaric Duty Doctor, not to be likely to require access during HBOT.
  • Normally monoplace chambers are not suitable for the immediate treatment of acute decompression illness.