EBAss (European Baromedical Association) Board Meeting
Important meeting of the European Baromedical Board (EBAss). An organisation for hyperbaric medicine practitioners and hyperbaric training.
DDRC Healthcare Operations Director, Peter Atkey, attended the latest European Baromedical Association (EBAss ) board meeting in October 2018. The meeting was hosted by the hyperbaric facility at Hospital de Sant Joan Despi in Barcelona.
Peter has been an EBAss board member since 2003. For 8 years he has been the President of the accreditation committee responsible for the inception and management of the EBAss/European Committee for Hyperbaric Medicine (ECHM)/European College of Baromedicine (ECB) accredited training and examination system.
Internationally Recognised Hyperbaric Medical Training
This scheme put in place the first European internationally recognised training and accreditation system for hyperbaric personnel. Initially this scheme offered independently accredited certification for hyperbaric chamber operators (ECHCO) and nurses (ECHRN). From there the scheme progressed to offer certification for intensive care nurses, mono-place chamber operators and Hyperbaric Safety Managers. DDRC Healthcare’s chamber staff all have, or are working towards, one of these qualifications.
About the EBAss Organisation
From its inception in 2002, the European Baromedical Association has been a not for profit organisation based in Belgium. However as the representative in Belgium is now retiring it became necessary for a more robust solution to be found. Following discussion with DDRC’s management, Peter Atkey suggested that EBAss be administered by DDRC Healthcare. This would avoid reliance on any individual and would be much more stable should personnel change or move on. This was accepted by the EBAss board in 2017. EBAss Belgium was officially closed for business at this October 2018 board meeting and EBAss UK was recognised as the new corporate entity of EBAss, taking over management from this point.
This is a huge step forward for the organisation. The new Board consists of committed and dedicated individuals who each have a clear view of their role and are very definitely interested in actively taking EBAss forward.
Peter continues to feel that being associated with EBAss helps to maintain DDRC’s position at the forefront of hyperbaric provision in Europe and indeed worldwide.