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A charity that aims to help ease the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, cancer and pain sufferers by giving them ‘extra’ oxygen have opened up about their struggle to survive in a "vicious circle" of debt and high operating costs as fears over the health of the third sector continue.
The Oxygen Therapy Centre's has outstanding debts going back to 2021, while their equipment creating a £1,300 weekly electricity bill, the team told Express.
The charity sector has faced trouble for some time, but appeared to hit a point of "crisis" this autumn.
A recent report by PwC Channel Islands found that a third of Jersey's charities are classed as "vulnerable", with less than three months' reserves in the bank.
Lisa McClure, Partner and Jersey Office Leader with PwC Channel Islands, wrote: "There is limited understanding, both in government and amongst the public, of the positive contributions made by the third sector as a whole.
"This in turn hampers the sector's ability to foster collaborations and innovations, secure sufficient resources and effectively drive change over the long-term."
Jersey Oxygen Therapy Centre is one of these charities, struggling both to stay afloat and to market itself.
It offers complementary therapies to help relieve symptoms of MS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, long covid, arthritis, wounds and injuries including ulcers, dementia, strokes and many more. In all, there are more than 100 conditions for which they seek to offer support.
Its key service involves breathing in 100% (pure) oxygen under increased pressure to allow extra oxygen to be taken up by the bloodstream and absorbed at a far greater rate.
The charity's home at Oak Tree Gardens on Trinity Hill hosts two hyperbaric chambers, each of which hosts four people in one-and-a-half-hour sessions. During hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patients breathe in pressurised air with up to 15 times as much oxygen content.
Other equipment at the facility includes a space for complementary therapies like a specialised massage bed and a reflexologist, and another room is being transformed into a room for treatments.
Pictured: The charity purifies and stores its own oxygen.
"I want to get a red light therapy panel, but again, it's another £1,000," Centre Manager Collette Bagas added.
Service users come from a huge variety of backgrounds – the youngest was three weeks old and the oldest 100 years. The level of interest in their therapies has been such that some patients have travelled from as far afield as France and the Netherlands to help soothe their conditions.
But staffing is limited, with just two staff members – Collette alongside Operations Supervisor Lisa Buesnel, both of whom work part-time. They are flanked by eight volunteers, who operate the oxygen chamber but aren't able to handle tasks like appointment bookings.
All service users are encouraged to donate at least £20, but it really costs £80 to £90 to run the chamber for a 90-minute session.
"90% of people pay £20 for their session. If we're running the chamber with one person in it, we're making a loss of about £70 to £80 on one chamber.
Pictured: The charity's facility, Philip James House.
She described trying to operate on minimal resources as "a vicious circle", adding that "funding has got really difficult since covid."
"So fundraising is huge for us, but we don't have a fundraiser at the moment, with two members of staff. We're not trained as fundraisers, we don't know anything about marketing.
"So it would be fantastic if we could fundraise to get a fundraiser!"
Despite continuing pressure on local charities, there was, however, some good news this week when it was confirmed that the struggling third sector will receive £4.5m from dormant bank accounts over the next three years.
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One in three Jersey charities ranked "vulnerable" in new report
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