‘That is what it’s all about, giving your body energy’: Healing Hub in Wick brings the benefits of oxygen therapy
In the two years since its royal reopening, the Healing Hub in Wick has continued to bring the benefits of oxygen therapy to users with a wide range of health conditions – and the voluntary group that runs the facility is keen to encourage others to “give it a try”.
Regular sessions in a hyperbaric chamber, breathing oxygen under pressure, can make a life-changing difference to overall physical wellbeing. It’s about “helping your body to heal itself”, according to Jan Farrington, the group’s secretary and treasurer.
Jan (77) speaks from experience – she uses the Wick chamber every week, having been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was in her early thirties.
“I don’t think people appreciate how essential to the body blood is,” she said. “It’s the river that takes everything round.
“If you saturate the blood with oxygen, it then allows the blood to work. The oxygen is the fuel that keeps your body going.”
It was two years ago this month that Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, as he was then, officially reopened the Healing Hub Oxygen Therapy Centre Caithness after a £76,000 refurbishment. It would be one of his last public engagements before becoming King in September 2022.
Oxygen therapy helps people with conditions ranging from MS, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to leg ulcers and sports injuries. According to the Hyperbaric Oxygen Institute, sports stars who have used hyperbaric chambers include footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, basketball star LeBron James and tennis champions Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic.
During his visit to the Healing Hub, the future King spoke to some of the users. One woman who had been suffering from long Covid said later: “I just explained to him why I was using it and how much it has helped me and that I had returned to work. He certainly seemed really interested in what I had to say.”
A man with ME and fibromyalgia also told how he had benefited from regular sessions in the oxygen chamber.
“With the treatment I have more options. It has given me more of an outlook,” he said after chatting to the royal visitor. “I feel I’m actually living more now than I was prior to having the treatment. It was an existence before, whereas now I am doing some things which I enjoy doing and I can do it for slightly longer than before.”
The centre now has about 25 regular users over the course of a month.
“Some of them only come in once a month, some come in every week,” Jan explained. “We have scope for more. There’s nobody in on Wednesdays at all.
“When we first did this thing we were inundated, but obviously people have got better and it has dropped off. Okay, they’ve gone, but there’s still room for others.
“We don’t want people to forget it’s there. It is available. Yes, it’s a £15 donation for an hour’s session, but that covers everything, the cost of the oxygen and the use of the chamber itself.
“A lot of people these days have got autoimmune problems. The body is turning in on itself, and what you’ve got to do is inform your body that it doesn’t do that.
“It’s great for people with leg ulcers and things like that, because a leg ulcer is lacking blood. And it’s great for people who have had operations, to help them heal.
“There’s someone with psoriasis and the difference in her skin was unbelievable. Even her consultant couldn’t believe the change in her skin. People with long Covid are still using the centre because they’re finding it is giving them their energy back.
“That is what it’s all about, giving your body energy. It’s fuel, and your body needs fuel.
“I was diagnosed with MS when I was 32 and I am now 77. I go every week without fail unless I’m on holiday. I get tired, and the chamber gives me a boost of energy to keep me going for the rest of the week. If nothing else, it helps with fatigue.
“I had cancer in 1988 and I know that my cancer treatment was lessened because I was using the chamber. Certain cancers do not like oxygen, and rheumatoid arthritis is definitely helped by it.
“Self-help, that is what it’s all about – help yourself, try to get your body to look after itself.”
The Healing Hub – formerly the Old Men’s Rest at the Braehead, above Wick harbour – was acquired by the group after it negotiated an asset transfer with Highland Council. A couple of other community organisations use the main room in the centre for their meetings.
“It’s a facility that is there for people to use on top of the fact that it is a Healing Hub,” said Jan, who lives in Castletown.
New railings have been installed outside the building, helped by a grant from the Caithness Community Fund, funded by ScottishPower Renewables’ Halsary wind farm.
She is urging anyone who may benefit from oxygen therapy to get in touch and speak to one of the team of volunteers.
“Come and look – come and see the building, see what we’re talking about,” she said. “People use it Monday and Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.”
Jan emphasised that first-time users won’t see an instant change and must be prepared to “give it time”.
She said: “Do not expect miracles. Give it a try – and I would say a try means a minimum of six sessions. In that time you should feel some form of benefit.
“Give it time, and give your body time. At least give it six and see how you get on. It’s there, if you’re prepared to give it a chance. You have to believe ‘this is going to help me’. What have you got to lose? Absolutely nothing.”
Text or call treasurer/secretary Jan Farrington on 07775 683300 or email janf139@btinternet.com; or call chairperson Christine Gunn on 01955 606726 or email Christine_262003@yahoo.co.uk. The centre’s phone number is 01955 604586.
