A state-of-the-art pool lift inspired by Paralympic swimmers has been officially opened at Kendal Leisure Centre by HM Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Mr Alexander Scott.
The Poolpod is already transforming the swim experience in the Kendal pool for everyone from people who use wheelchairs to patients recovering from injuries by enabling them to move independently from poolside to water in less than 20 seconds.
Costing nearly £50,000, the equipment has been funded by Westmorland and Furness Council and its leisure partner GLL, which runs Kendal Leisure Centre, South Lakeland Hydrotherapy Ltd and charities including Bay Hospitals Charity for University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
The funding partners’ vision is to make swimming for exercise, rehabilitation and enjoyment available to everyone at Kendal Leisure Centre by addressing barriers such as steps and ladders, and enabling people with disabilities or mobility issues to access the water as easily as possible.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, pupils from Sandgate School in Kendal were among the first to try out the new submersible platform and to see how easy it is to raise and lower via push-button controls.
Originally developed for the Olympic Delivery Authority, the Poolpod features a custom-designed submersible wheelchair, or users can stand or sit while they descend to a comfortable water depth. As well as people with mobility issues, the Poolpod is also ideal for parents with babies.
Derek Jones, GLL’s Partnership Manager for Westmorland and Furness, said: “Since the installation of the Poolpod, usage and feedback from customers has been excellent. Many of our existing customers have reported how they now feel more independent, being able to access the swimming pool without being aided by helpers or leisure centre staff.
“GLL is a charitable social enterprise and one of our core values is helping reduce health inequalities. The Poolpod and many other initiatives we have running at the centre go a long way to achieving this.
“These include the Healthwise activity programme with more than 500 people referred to us so far for exercise, and the Age Friendly South Lakeland programme to help people stay active later in life. The NHS’s Integrated Musculoskeletal services are also co-located here.”
Councillor Dyan Jones, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Customer and Waste Services, whose portfolio includes sport and leisure, said: “The Poolpod is a super piece of equipment that provides pool users at our Kendal Leisure Centre a greater opportunity to enter the water with confidence, independence and dignity.
“GLL run several leisure centres on the council’s behalf and I’m delighted they have given £10,000 towards the Poolpod from our yearly funding allocation. This project perfectly fits with our council priorities of supporting people’s needs, proactively reducing inequality and enabling active, healthy and happy lives for all.”
Colin Ranshaw, Chair of South Lakeland Hydrotherapy Ltd, said: “This is great news for users of Sandgate Hydrotherapy Pool in Kendal, who may now also access Kendal Leisure Centre pool with their families and friends for leisure, in addition to therapy at Sandgate pool.”
The charitable trust gave £20,000 towards the Poolpod which included donations from the Frieda Scott Charitable Trust and Garfield Weston Foundation, coordinated by Cumbria Community Foundation.
Mr Ranshaw said: “It allows great accessibility for people of all ages and abilities to use the pool. Importantly it means that family and friends of disabled children can enjoy the pool together for both leisure and health and wellbeing.”
He added: “By having it installed at Kendal Leisure Centre we have a two-way process of referring pool users from Sandgate to the leisure centre, and from the leisure centre – via the NHS Musculoskeletal Services – to Sandgate.”
Suzanne Lofthouse, from the Bay Hospitals Charity, said: “We were delighted to donate £19,331.29 towards the Poolpod, which we hope will help users to experience fun in the water for many years to come. We're extremely grateful to the Barrow Thornborrow Charity who donated the money to us to enable this work to take place.”