Zadar County intends to carry out the project jointly with the specialist orthopaedic hospital. Project documentation is being prepared. The announcement confirms neither an operational hyperbaric chamber nor an opening date.
For now, the decision concerns the location
Biograd na Moru is to receive a medical hyperbaric chamber. According to Zadar County, several possible locations were assessed; implementation in Biograd, together with the Special Hospital for Orthopaedics, has now been agreed. The announcement states that the hospital has already begun preparing the project documentation.
The news dated 15 October follows answers given by County Prefect Josip Bilaver at the county assembly. It therefore amounts to more than a non-binding wish in a travel article. At the same time, the progress made remains clearly limited: agreeing a location and preparing documentation are not the same as completing construction, appointing staff or starting treatment.
Why this matters to the region
The county cites the maritime economy and the large number of divers among its reasons for the project. It mentions other medical applications alongside decompression sickness. However, the announcement does not specify which treatments will actually be offered in Biograd, under what conditions or at what times.
That distinction is crucial for visitors, dive centres and residents. An announced facility must not yet be factored into plans as healthcare that is already available. This article describes an infrastructure project; it is neither a treatment recommendation nor a directory of currently operational hyperbaric chambers.
The MRI scanner is a separate project
In parallel, the county announces that a new MRI scanner at the specialist hospital will soon enter service, along with investment in X-ray diagnostics. These are additional modernisation measures, but they are not evidence that the hyperbaric chamber is also about to open. The different equipment and project stages should not be combined into a single completion announcement.
The next reliable progress report would need to answer other questions: how will the project be funded, what will be purchased, who will operate the facility and when can it treat patients? Until those details are available, the correct position remains: Biograd has been agreed as the location, and planning is under way.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
Time-sensitive information may change. Please check the linked primary source before travelling.
