To Dive or not To Dive
Our advice is to stay at home
The doctor team here at DDRC are all divers and we appreciate that with the start of summer just round the corner we’d normally be getting ready to make the most of this weather. However, due to coronavirus (COVID-19) the current advice from the UK government is to stay at home and only go outside for the following reasons:
- Shopping for basic necessities (food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible)
- One form of exercise a day (for example a run, walk or cycle)
- Any medical need, or to provide care/help to a vulnerable person
- Travelling to and from work (only where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
These measures are in place to protect us all and help the NHS in dealing with the current crisis.
As divers we must consider the impact our activities may have, not only on ourselves but on the wider population also. Any unnecessary diving will:
- Increase risk of disease transmission from individual to individual
- Increase the risk of injury requiring support from SAR and medical services. This will put members of HM Coastguard, RNLI and Ambulance services at risk, in addition to occupying vital services which are currently needed elsewhere
Therefore, the team here at DDRC would ask that you do not dive currently. This advice is in keeping with the latest advice from BSAC. We’re still running a 24 hour emergency service, but hope that it won’t be necessary.
Instead, we hope there are diving related things that we can all do to expand our knowledge and safety for when this is over:
- Refreshing knowledge or learning new skills via webinars and online learning
- Inspection and routine maintenance of kit (HSE guidance on cleaning diving equipment)
- Research and planning of future dive trips
Be sure to keep an eye on our social media for some medical cases in the coming days also.
Please stay safe. Please stay at home. Dr Ash Davies (Junior Doctor), Dr Doug Watts (Medical Director) and the whole team at DDRC.