Diving incident

I would like to record my appreciation and thanks to a number of people who assisted me following a diving incident on April 1 at Reqqa Point in Gozo.

Having reached the shore following an otherwise incident-free planned dive I collapsed unconscious with decompression sickness. My diving partner Stefan Rupprechter, with the help of a local fisherman and another diving instructor, whose names I have not discovered, carried me to a safe location and contacted the emergency services.

I was rushed to Gozo General Hospital where I regained consciousness some two hours later and was then airlifted to St Luke's Hospital on Malta for recompression treatment.

Throughout the incident I received expert attention from the emergency services and the medical personnel at both hospitals and I expect to make a complete recovery in the fullness of time. Linda and I would like to express our wholehearted thanks to the doctors and staff of both hospitals for their care and assistance. Special thanks too to Stefan and the others at the dive site for their prompt actions, to Mark and Mariella Cassar and Gemma Zammit for their invaluable support, and to all our friends and diving colleagues for their concern and good wishes.

On a less positive note, I am deeply concerned as a professional diving instructor that the new hyperbaric chamber at Gozo General Hospital could not be used, despite having been officially opened some time ago. Significant time and money is wasted in transferring patients to Malta for recompression treatment, and time is of the essence in diving-related accidents. It is inexcusable that this resource is not fully operational, and I urge all those with influence to address this issue as a matter of urgency.