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SPN FEB 2011 WaterWellness
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
“Disabled people are acknowledged to be more loyal customers than non-disabled people and they are also often accompanied by others”
Aquasure’s specialist skills in hydrotherapy pool design and installation has earned the business an international reputation in both the domestic and commercial sectors .The company maintain and service the facilities at Premier League Manchester City Football Clubs’ hydrotherapy and chiller pools.
The demand for hydrotherapy pools at schools across the UK, some special needs, means this sector of the commercial market is buoyant. A Department of Health report in November last year sought to increase the number of hydrotherapy pools used in hospitals as part of patents’ recovery processes. It urges future investment be put to one side to provide hospital units with quality modern pools large enough to allow exercise.
The provision of pool lifts and hoists into swimming pools has always been at the heart of
The Waterlift re-invents the assisted pool access systems, being halfway between conventional steps and complex access systems for the disabled
how swimming pools can help people gain access to the water for either exercise or healing. The availability of these lifts is again under the spotlight as a 2011 review of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act gets under way. The DDA requires swimming pool owners and managers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in any provision for disabled lifts in pools as part of wider responsibilities to provide adequate access and facilities. There is no specific law determining what this means in terms of the provision of facilities at pools. In other words it is voluntary. Phil Young specialises in helping local authorities interpret and put the DDA into operation. He believes the commitment to providing the right sort of practical facilities still has a long way to go. ‘Disabled people are acknowledged to be more loyal customers than non-disabled people and they are also often accompanied by others, leading to a further increase in income and in secondary spend’. “It can take a lot of staff time and effort to get access for a disabled or partly disabled person into the pool without a lift. Local authorities are concerned this is a service they have to offer. I appreciate that money is tight but the cost of installing a pool lift is in the region of £2,000 for a manual system and £5,000 for a fully automated pool lift.”
The factors for swimming pools are often more than costs and need.
It would be unreasonable to expect a small hotel with a pool or a small leisure centre to offer the same pool lift options as a larger local authority pool or leisure centre. It is also often a practical problem where older pools don’t have room and haven’t been designed for access to a pool lift.
But it seems the Government wants to ask disabled organisations to see if the impact of the DDA has seen services improve. An option is to be more forceful on the provision of lifts. Pool lift specialists Suntrap Systems’ Managing Director Janet Cornthwaite said: “I think it’s fair to say that lifts designed in the UK are often expensive and very traditional in their approach. The winch system where you have to move the whole chair around and position it over the pool before lowering it is slow and not easy to use. “I also think they are not particularly comfortable or dignified. I think the end user of the lifts hasn’t been given much say in the matter. “In the United States where we are supplied from, we benefit from having the very latest in
technology. They started earlier over there in the 1970’s as a result of the Vietnam War and were able to understand what the end user needed far more. I think this has been an enormous benefit.
“At the moment a manual lift will cost just under £2,000. A battery assisted lift will cost £2,100 and that gives a smooth battery assisted lowing. The Portable Pro which will cost £5,000 has a number of advantages. The unit is very small and manageable can be adjusted easily and can be moved anywhere around the poolside. “It isn’t always easy for pool owners and managers to work with pool lifts.
“Pre war pools were not really designed with the disabled in mind and people still running these pools find there just isn’t room to be able to get a pool lift or hoist in place. They are very limited in what they can offer. Newer leisure centres are better designed for these facilities.” The ‘Aqua’ Spa Lift from Suntrap is designed for above-ground pools and spas – and was a first for the UK. Manually operated and battery- assisted, it is manufactured from epoxy powder- coated stainless steel. The lift has been certified to lift 28.5 stones (181 kilos), and will clear a wall 102cm (40”) high. This and other models in the ‘Aqua’ range of Disabled Lifts for above- ground spas and pools can be extended to clear a wall 150cm (60”) high – with the same lifting capacity!
A number of companies specialising in hospital and customer lifts have moved into the pool hoist market. M & G Olympic Products are a major supplier of standard and specially designed swimming pool equipment for new and refurbished pools. All balustrading is designed, fabricated and installed to conform to crowd control building regulations, manufactured from 38mm or 50mm diameter 16g stainless steel tube recommended for longer pool life or coated mild steel.
The company has a range of standard and non- standard swimming pool access ladders, including disabled persons access ladders.
The Oxford Dipper Pool Hoist with its transporter is one of the most popular hoists on the market. At Joerns Healthcare, specialists in patient handling, the hoist has become an essential product in bringing new opportunities for disabled swimmers. Said a spokesman: “It offers complete reassurance and safety both getting in and out of the water and that is what all the pools are looking for.”
The Dipper, also available as part of Dolphin Lifts range, is specially for use at swimming pools, therapy pools and quayside locations with a design that is both flexible and highly functional. The market leading Dipper is a proven, reliable and safe method of gaining access to the water and has a weight capacity of 140kg (22 stone). Ringwood Health and Leisure Centre in
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