The staff of Nationwide International have chosen the Hyperbaric Chamber as the beneficiary of their annual charity donation, money raised entirely by the company’s workforce.

A donation of ?3,000 was made to the charity, the proceeds of a series of staff fund raising events throughout the past year.

“We chose the Hyperbaric Chamber because we knew of the wonderful service it provides for the Isle of Man and the staff wanted to show how much they appreciate this unique facility being provided on the Island,” said a spokesman for Nationwide.

The money was raised through a number of different events throughout the working year at Nationwide International, including dress-down days , hamper auctions and bake-offs and organised by the social and charity committee.

The Isle of Man Hyperbaric Medical Facility was originally established in 1984 in memory of commercial diver Kevin Gray who died after a diving accident. It has since been operated by the Kevin Gray Memorial Trust.

Today the facility provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy not only to divers, but to a wide range of patients suffering from injuries and chronic medical conditions. Patients have included a wide range of local residents, most notably the majority of the Island’s professional motorcycle racers who have used the chamber to assist recover from injuries, including Manxman Conor Cummins.

The unit has two large pressurised chambers with equipment for the provision of intensive care, utilising mixed gases and saturation treatments.

The chamber is supported by a number of volunteers, but it still requires ?150,000 a year to operate, with the majority of the money coming from public donations.

Hyperbaricist Dave Downie said, “In these times it’s becoming more and more difficult to raise funds to maintain the level of service at the Hyperbaric Chamber, so the donation from Nationwide International is not only very welcome but it also helps us to raise the profile of the valuable service provided for the Isle of Man.”

Volunteers can become a Friend of the Hyperbaric Chamber or can give their time to help operate the facility. More information is available online at www.hyperbaric.im

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