A recompression unit hailed as one of the best in the world was given its official launch recently at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The long-awaited $240,000 hyperbaric chamber will not be fully operational until August but the ceremony was brought forward to give former hospital chief Sheila Manderson a good send off during her last week at the hospital.

The chamber -- made possible through public and private fundraising and after years of lobbying by hospital staff -- had been ready for over a year but its launch was delayed as KEMH searched for a suitable site for the 10-tonne unit.

A separate extension, next to the diabetes unit, has been built to house the steel unit which can take up to eight patients at a time and is more than twice the size of the old one.

At the opening ceremony former Premier David Saul -- a keen diver and one of the driving forces behind the push for the chamber -- told assembled medics and guests of his excitement about the new equipment.

He said: "This purpose-built hyperbaric chamber is of the first order. There is not a better one in the world.'' "I may be an old diver but I don't consider this gorgeous piece of equipment as anything really associated with diving.'' "It will help people with diabetes, burns and chronically crushed limbs.'' Dr. Carol Ferris, who will work in the unit, also stressed that the chamber wouldn't just be for treating divers suffering from excess nitrogen in their blood supply.

She said: "We only treat about 10-20 divers a year. But this will help all sorts of people -- diabetics, people suffering from pressure ulcers and serious infections.

"People who have had bike accidents and are suffering from tissue damage and broken bones as well as stroke victims and people with sports injuries will benefit.'' The pressure in the unit doubles the amounts of the oxygen a patient breathes, which in turn helps stimulate blood supply and tissue growth.

Dr. Ferris said: "It increases healing and has all sorts of uses. I'm thrilled to bits we've finally got it.'' "There will also be lots of experimental uses and perhaps we will be able to train people from around the world.'' When the unit is up and running, patients will use it for two-hour sessions twice a day for up to six weeks.