Medical referees ... a doctor writes
I HAVE JUST READ A LETTER concerning the dearth of medical referees [ published in the March issue of SCUBA ]. In a way I am surprised it has taken this long for the issue to be addressed . I have been diving continuously over the last 59 years and was a medical referee for around 30 of those . I also have to consult medical referees at times regarding health issues but nowadays don ’ t know anybody who is a local referee who is not retired .
Before me , my late father had been a medical referee for a number of years ( he learned to dive in 1957 ). I charged far less than my colleagues for medicals regarding the post as something of a privilege that also enabled me to keep up with changes in diving medicine . I was , as far as I could see , the only referee in Somerset when I retired over ten years ago . I couldn ’ t find anybody to replace me , although I knew diving doctors locally – they felt too busy to take on the role .
I would have continued being a referee , but a colleague suggested I was vulnerable to litigation and needed to maintain medical insurance . The lowest quote was £ 700 a year , which would be for perhaps giving advice and occasionally examining people about 20 times annually . It just wasn ’ t realistic to continue .
I suspect a pool of expertise is gradually being lost , now that general practice as I knew it has collapsed . I have to laugh when I travel and fill out forms asking for signatures from a ‘ diving physician ’, as they hardly exist nowadays . One answer is perhaps for BSAC to bite the bullet and provide cover for doctors issuing medical advice , which might encourage some retired doctors to come forward and provide a more even spread of referees .
I see there are doctors providing a commercial service in my region ; the cost of a medical seems to have more than doubled over the last 10 years , according to one website I visited . It would be interesting to read comments from other medical referees . DR PETER Glanvill , Somerset
Loyalty down the ages
IT SEEMS LIKE A LIFETIME AGO NOW BUT NEARLY 50 years ago I was serving with HM Forces in the Sultanate of Oman , looking after ground communications . I managed some diving on my days off , in the Arabian Sea , also training some service personal and civilian contractors in the delights of warm water diving .
Halfway through my tour I was given the opportunity to have seven days R & R at was then RAF Gan in the Maldives . This was a refuelling stop for troop movement to Singapore and beyond . As with all military bases , this was known as a Special Branch of the BSAC , Gan Branch Number 126 .
Little was I to know that on my recent club dive trip to Gan that I would once again be diving on the British Loyalty wreck from 49 years ago , dive number 116 in my logbook from 24 August 1975 . Time in was 11am ; depth 30.5 metres ; dive duration 20 minutes . I had no computer or alternative air source , just an ABLJ and a 60 cubic foot dive cylinder with an single stage regulator on a wreck that has since seen some big changes in marine life and soft and hard coral .
My recent diving buddies on the Gan trip in January 2024 asked me if I remembered much and did it bring back many memories ? In all honesty 49 years is a long time ago – I have since logged up just over 3,000 dives , all of which I still record , memories for my old age !
I do know that it was torpedoed on 9 March 1944 by U183 , having checked my dive log for the day along with the other eight dives I logged all those years ago .
Thanks to a 30 % nitrox mix and with the aid of a modern computer , my dive time was extended from 20 minutes to a 62-minute no-decompression dive . If you are ever in Addu Atoll , do not miss the opportunity ; I certainly will not be waiting another 49 years to dive it again . DAVE PLUMB , Coventry BSAC 58 and Monday Club 2606
Scarborough ’ s clubhouse turns 60
SCARBOROUGH SUB AQUA CLUB ( BRANCH 0083 ) RECENTLY CELEBRATED THE 60TH anniversary of the opening of their clubhouse . The branch was formed in 1960 , buying the property four years later . The property was bought for £ 400 and a further £ 700 was spent on refurbishment , primarily installing the bar !
We were the first BSAC branch in the country to have a clubhouse and we have been lucky enough to call it our home ever since . Over the decades , artefacts raised by club members have been put on display for all to see . While our attitudes towards artefact recovery have changed with the times , our collection still attracts people from far and wide ; we have a good relationship with Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre . In 1969 , a signal cannon was recovered by member and amateur historian Pete Lassey ( pictured sitting to the right of the cannon ) from our local wreck , the SS Volunteer .
To mark this milestone , the cannon has now been put on display on a purpose-built carriage . The celebration was combined with our annual awards ceremony ; we also held a competition to design a commemorative logo to be printed on mugs and t-shirts . It was a great night and attended by members of all ages . Here ’ s to the next 60 years ! MATT NEWSOME , Chair , Scarborough Sub Aqua Club
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