The Southern African Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Association (SAUHMA) is an organisation of voluntary members with a special interest in the subject of
underwater and/or
hyperbaric medicine
Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...
, recognised by the Council of the
South African Medical Association
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) is a non-statutory, professional association for public- and private-sector medical practitioners in South Africa. Registered as a non-profit organisation it acts as a trade union for its public-secto ...
as a special interest group. The Association promotes the practice and facilitates the study of underwater and hyperbaric medicine. Membership includes members and associate members, and may include
medical practitioners
A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...
; registered
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
; registered
paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
; qualified
hyperbaric chamber
A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
operators;
diving instructors; dive operators, and any other person with a special interest underwater or hyperbaric medicine.
History
SAUHMA was formed in 1992, and affiliated to the
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society
The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some charac ...
(UHMS) in 1994. It follows the UHMS safety and medical recommendations and supports the UHMS HBO Committee's list of indications.
Diving medical registry
SAUHMA is the accreditation agency for facilities for hyperbaric medicine in South Africa, and for the personnel operating such facilities.
It is also the designated agency to provide the national on-line database of all registered designated medical practitioners licensed to perform medical examinations of fitness to dive for commercial divers in South Africa, and of the results of all medical examinations for fitness to dive for commercial divers in terms of Regulations 19 and 20 of the Diving Regulations 2009 to the South African Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 85 of 1993.
References
{{Authority control
Diving medicine organizations