Ask about our free trial sessions of Oxygen Therapy!

About Us

Mark Boscher is the Chair of the Trustees (this is a Charity). He has been here for 15 years, including as Chief Executive for 11 years. He is well placed to answer your questions. He often goes into our Oxygen Chamber with new people when they go for their trial sessions. Mark loves to talk with new people!

Meire Andrade is the Manager. She organises the staff who deliver the Oxygen Therapy sessions. She is the queen of the Oxygen timetable!

We simply wouldn’t be here without our amazing team of Oxygen Operators and volunteers. Every Oxygen Therapy session involves two fully trained operators who are in contact with people in the Oxygen Chamber throughout each session.

Mark Boscher – Chair of the Trustees

Our History

Hertfordshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre (HMSTC) came into existence because of one man’s experience of Oxygen Treatment: Tom Mills, who was then a Letchworth resident.

Oxygen Treatment for people affected by Multiple Sclerosis (MS) began in 1958 in the USA, when similarities between the “bends” (as suffered by deep sea divers who surface too quickly) and MS were first recognised. In 1979, 250 people with MS in the USA were treated with oxygen under pressure and 91% recorded an improvement in their symptoms, ranging from what was termed minimal to dramatic. In 1982 the first double-blind trial was conducted, again in the USA, and from an experimental group of 17 people with MS treated, 12 noted “objective improvement”.  After one year of follow-up treatment, only 2 of the original 17 had deteriorated.

As a result of the American work, a UK trial funded by ARMS (Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis) was begun in Dundee under Professor Phillip James. Again people with MS experienced improvement far beyond the expected placebo effect, notably in sensation, bladder control and fatigue. Having become convinced of the benefits of Oxygen Treatment, Tom Mills purchased a compression chamber, which was for his own use and that of a few fellow sufferers. It soon became apparent to him that there was a large demand for Oxygen Treatment in Hertfordshire and the Herts MS Therapy Centre was established, taking just 10 months to raise the funds to buy a bigger oxygen chamber and secure running costs for one year.

In August 1983 eight people with MS took the first Oxygen Treatment in our Centre, by which time there was a waiting list of 400 people. This was one of the first Centres like this in the UK.

We have grown from strength to strength. Our commitment and focus are still offering the opportunity of Oxygen Therapy to as many people as possible.

Our Structure

We are a company limited by Guarantee (under Company Number 02215165) and Registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission under Charity Number 299524. That means we are not a subsidiary of any other organisation. We are a legal entity in our own right.

As a Company we have a legal constitution that we must follow (called our Memorandum and Articles of Association). Members of the charity elect a Board of Trustees/Directors each year. (They are directors under Company Law and Trustees under Charity Law). This is the most popular legal form for a Charity in the UK.

The Board meets regularly to set overall direction for the Centre. They agree the annual Business Plan and delegate implementation to the HMSTC team.

Our Board Members (in alphabetical order by surname) are:

  • Mark Boscher (Chair and Company Secretary)
  • Andy Coulthard
  • Richard Greener (Treasurer)

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