The main aim of the Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Division is to improve the operational capability of Royal Navy Diving by promoting good health and safety and maximising the effectiveness of personnel. Since the Royal Navy is the lead Service for all military diving, the Division has an equivalent aim for Army Diving and for tri-Service military adventurous training diving. 

To meet these aims the Division acts as the final authority in the assessment of medical fitness for all types of Service diving. It also acts as medical advisor to the Superintendent of Diving on the development of safe diving policy for the Military Diving Safety Management System.

To mitigate the adverse health effects following military diving incidents or accidents in the Portsmouth area (where the bulk of Diving training and Submarine Escape training takes place), the Division provides on site consultant support to manage casualties. Medical Officers from the division will also deploy to provide onsite support to high risk activities such as diving trials and submarine escape and rescue exercises. For other military diving incidents elsewhere in the world, the Division operates a round the clock Diving Incident Telephone Advice Line. This service is also offered to support civilian diving incidents.

To ensure diving medicine specialists are sufficiently experienced to manage military diving accidents (which occur quite infrequently), diving medicine specialists within the division also treat local civilian diving casualties at the Hyperbaric Medicine Unit operated by QinetiQ.

The Division also provide subject matter experts to support courses in diving medicine run by INM’s Training Division such as the Standard Underwater Medicine Course. Pre-joining training is also provided for Service Medical Officers appointed to the Submarine Escape Training Tank. See the Training Course Information pages for more details.

The Division also aims to improve knowledge about diving medicine and improve the safety of diving by participation with national and international groups and organisations such as the British Diving Safety Group the British Hyperbaric Association, the UK Sports Diver Medical Committee and the NATO Diving Working Group.

Diving medicine is a branch of Occupational Medicine and the division is typically manned by two Service consultants, a US Navy Exchange Officer, a specialist registrar, and a Petty Officer Medical Assistant. An Administration Officer is also shared with the Submarine and Radiation Medicine Division.

For further information please contact:

The Administration Officer
Underwater Medicine
Institute of Naval Medicine
Crescent Road
Alverstoke
GOSPORT
Hampshire
PO12 2DL

Tel: 02392 768026
Fax: 02392 504823
Email: aoumd@inm.mod.uk