St Augustine's Hyperbaric & Wound Care
St Augustine's Hyperbaric & Wound Care
Led by Dr Craig Springate since 2000, our unit pairs hyperbaric oxygen therapy with specialised complex wound care, for patients whose wounds need more than time.
Choosing a hyperbaric facility is an important decision. Every patient is personally assessed, so treatment is appropriate, evidence-based, and specific to them.
Founded in 2000 by Dr Craig Springate, who brings over 25 years of hyperbaric and wound-care experience to every case.
Hyperbaric medicine is paired with specialised surgical wound management — the combined approach used by leading centres worldwide.
Less-established indications are assessed case by case, weighing clinical appropriateness, cost, and responsibility to patients and funders.
All patients are screened for suitability before exposure. Strict protocols have kept an exceptional safety record for more than two decades.
We work closely with referring doctors, hospitals, and medical funders, supported by ongoing education and collaboration.
From first contact to final session, every patient is treated as a person — not a protocol.
Inside a pressurised chamber, patients breathe 100% oxygen, raising the oxygen carried in the blood to several times normal levels. That surge reaches tissue starved of oxygen by injury, infection, or disease — tissue that standard wound care alone often can't reach.
It's used alongside, not instead of, standard wound treatment, and works best as part of an integrated plan.
Floods tissue and bone that has been starved of oxygen.
Triggers release of stem cells and the growth factors that drive healing.
Improves antibiotic effectiveness and directly limits bacterial growth.
Eases inflammation and fluid build-up in compromised tissue.
We treat a broad range of approved conditions. If you're unsure whether hyperbaric therapy applies to you, ask your referring doctor or contact us directly.
Severe, slow-healing foot ulcers at risk of amputation.
Soft tissue and bone damage caused by cancer radiotherapy.
Skin grafts or flaps at high risk of tissue death.
Osteomyelitis that hasn't responded to standard treatment.
Diving-related injury requiring urgent recompression.
Bone tissue death caused by reduced blood supply.
Acute sensorineural hearing loss treated early.
Crush injuries, gangrene, and thermal burns.
You'll sit or lie in either a single-person tube (monoplace) or a multi-person room (multiplace).
Air pressure rises to 2–3 times normal, which can cause a temporary ear-popping sensation.
Sessions run 90–120 minutes, usually daily, over a course of 6–8 weeks.
Electronics, jewellery, and petroleum-based products aren't permitted in the chamber, for safety.
With a background in sports and emergency medicine, Dr Springate spent many years as team physician to the Sharks rugby and South African U19 teams. He was first exposed to hyperbaric oxygen therapy during his time in the navy, which led to a lasting interest in healing problem wounds through a holistic, integrated approach.
Oversees day-to-day operation of the unit, coordinating patient care and chamber sessions.
Usually the first friendly voice you'll hear when booking or arriving for an appointment.
My diabetic heel ulcer went from about the size of a 5 rand coin to a 20 cent piece in roughly two months of chamber and wound treatment. It's almost completely healed.
— Peter EtheringtonAfter breaking my ankle in 2012, hyperbaric treatment helped me heal fast enough to finish the season. I went on to play in two more World Cups and became a World Champion in 2019.
— "Beast", SpringbokAfter my husband's toe amputations, Craig's wound care and the hyperbaric chamber got his foot to heal perfectly over 90 daily sessions. Care that's continued for years since.
— Mary Collins
Patients may be referred by a healthcare provider, or contact the unit directly to arrange an appointment.
