Healing centre will become a hub for the community
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Wick’s oxygen therapy centre is set for a new lease of life following a £76,000 refurbishment.
The barochamber at the Healing Hub Oxygen Therapy Centre Caithness can help people with a wide range of health issues, from multiple sclerosis (MS) to sports injuries.
And, when circumstances allow, the volunteers who run the upgraded building at the town's Braehead would like to see other community organisations using it for their own meetings and activities.
“We are ready for business and we want people to know we’re available, as much as Covid will let us be,” said Jan Farrington, the group's treasurer and secretary. “My vision is that the building becomes one that the community can use.”
Jan (73), who lives in Castletown, knows all about the benefits of oxygen therapy. She has had MS for 38 years and undergoes an hour-long session in the chamber every week.
“It increases the healing capabilities of the body because you’re putting oxygen under pressure into your system,” she explained. “I was diagnosed in 1982 and I’ve been using it since then and I have not missed unless I’m on holiday. I go every week without fail.
“It has kept me going and I swear by it. I know that when I come back from holiday I need it because I get tired.
“And it’s not just for people with MS. It’s for people with fibromyalgia, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, leg ulcers, sports injuries, people with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], people with certain asthmas… certain cancers do not like oxygen.”
She gives the example of a user from Sutherland who also visits the chamber every week. “He suffers with fibromyalgia and he knows that if he goes in the chamber he’s got his energy back, he sleeps well and he has less pain.”
Jan added: “It doesn’t give benefits straight away. You’ve got to give your body time to build up the amount of oxygen that’s in the system to allow your body to do the work.”
Enhanced hygiene measures are in place at the centre, such as sanitising and the use of masks and gloves, while social distancing is observed.
“There are six of us using it at the moment,” Jan explained. “Prior to Covid we had managed to get ourselves up to 10-plus.”
More volunteers are needed to learn how to operate the chamber, as two people have to be present when someone is inside it. “It’s not rocket science, honestly it isn’t. It’s ever so easy, but we do need volunteers,” Jan said.
I go every week without fail. It has kept me going and I swear by it.
The building – formerly the Old Men’s Rest – was acquired by the group after it negotiated an asset transfer with Highland Council. Improvements have included the addition of a small parking area to the rear.
The Healing Hub has received financial support from a number of sources, including the Beatrice and Camster wind farms, the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund, the Robertson Trust, Tesco Bags for Help, Murkle SWI and Bank of Scotland, and has been selected as one of the Co-op’s community charities.
“We are well supported by the community,” Jan said. “People who know about us are prepared to support us.
“A fortnight ago our chairperson Christine Gunn did an afternoon at the Co-op, explaining what was happening and why the Co-op was supporting us, and a lot of people thought that the chamber had shut. They knew about it, but thought it was no longer working.”
Jan is keen to spread the message that other groups will be able to use the centre when the time is right.
“I really want to promote the building as a hub for community use – for small societies, for meetings. The heating is tremendous, it’s ideal for disabled parking and there’s a disabled toilet,” she said.
“There are cupboards in the kitchen where they can put their tea and coffee, and it becomes their place for that afternoon or evening.
“My aim is to get a committee of all the societies that use it, and they can run the building. We will buy our own oxygen, but each society will contribute towards the insurance and the heating.”
In the meantime the group would be happy to hear from anyone interested in finding out more about oxygen therapy. Jan said: “People can either phone me or phone Christine and we’ll organise for them to come and visit.”
Text or call Jan Farrington on 07775 683300, or call Christine Gunn on 01955 606726. The centre’s phone number is 01955 604586.
