Councils blame rising costs for drop in swimming pool temperatures
Of the 256 councils who responded to BBC FOIs, 39 had lowered pool temperatures in the past five years.In total, 33 local authorities had permanently lowered the temperature of at least one main or learner pool. No council lowered the target temperature of their pools by more that one degree, or below the guidelines given by the Pool and Water Treatment Advisory Group, a pool standards body.These recommend that pools should be 27C to 29C for recreational swimming and adult teaching, and 29C to 31C for children's teaching.
'Please don't do it'
Mrs Watson, 55, who lives in south-west England, has a rare type of muscular dystrophy called central core disease.She stopped swimming due to the lower pool temperatures."I used to come out and I couldn't get warm," she said.Central core disease is a genetic condition affecting the muscles, usually leading to weakness in the muscles closest to the centre of the body, such as hips and shoulders.Swimming is a non-weight-bearing exercise, making it ideal for Mrs Watson. For 10 years, she swam five times a week.She said: "I can walk in a pool like a normal person. I feel normal in a pool. I look like every other swimmer in there."
However, her pool became "far too cold" for her to continue her sessions."Anyone with muscle wasting, they're slower in the water," she said."Being slower, you get colder quicker."She said she told pool staff over a period of months the pool was too cold but was met with "a number of excuses".Eventually she decided swimming was no longer helping her health, and she had to stop, which she said had contributed to her walking getting worse.She said she believed the lower pool temperatures were "an easy way to spend less money", and urged councils: "Please don't do it - look at the other options."
More than 30 councils that permanently or temporarily lowered pool temperatures said they did so due to the rise in energy costs following Covid and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Since the start of 2019, the average cost of electricity for non-domestic users has more than doubled, rising from 12.9 p/kWh to 28.39 p/kWh in 2023.Additionally, five local authorities gave sustainability and net zero targets as a key factor in the decision to lower temperatures.An LGA spokesperson said "rising energy and operational costs" were forcing councils to reduce or close leisure facilities.They added that despite "tough spending decisions" faced by the government, more funding was needed to support "essential preventative services which benefit the health of the nation, such as swimming pools".
A Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson said the government was "absolutely committed to building a healthier nation and reducing pressure on our NHS".They added they were working with the sport and leisure sector as part of a £400m pledge to support grassroots facilities, promote "health, wellbeing and community cohesion" and help "remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Family welcome inquest into death of boy sent home from A&E
The family of a five-year-old boy who died after he was sent home from A&E say they are 'getting closer and closer to the truth' after an inquest into his death was opened. Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died at Sheffield Children's Hospital on November 23 2022, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics. Last month, after a second report into Yusuf's care was published by NHS England, his family called for an inquest into his death, saying there were still many unanswered questions. On Thursday, an inquest was opened and adjourned by Sheffield's Senior Coroner Tanyka Rawden. Speaking after the five minute-long hearing, Yusuf's uncle Zaheer Ahmed said: 'It's been a very long journey for us and we really appreciate the fact that the coroner has listened to us on our first approach and given us the inquest we want. 'And it will give us more answers about how Yusuf died, which is what we're wanting. 'It's been a tough fight to get here, but we're getting closer and closer to the truth.' The coroner adjourned the inquest to a case management hearing on January 30 2026 but said the full hearing will be later than this. Mr Ahmed said: 'We don't mind how long it takes as long as everything gets looked at properly and thoroughly and we get the answers that we need. 'We don't want it to be rushed. We don't want any opportunities to be missed.' He said: 'It was actually Yusuf's birthday yesterday. He would have been eight years old today.' Mr Ahmed has always said they were told 'there are no beds and not enough doctors' in the emergency department, and that Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham. Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to a GP with a sore throat and feeling unwell on November 15. He was prescribed antibiotics by an advanced nurse practitioner. Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital urgent and emergency care centre (UECC) where he was seen in the early hours of the morning after a six-hour wait. He was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of antibiotics. Two days later Yusuf was given further antibiotics by his GP for a possible chest infection, but his family became so concerned they called an ambulance and insisted the paramedics take him to Sheffield Children's Hospital rather than Rotherham. Yusuf was admitted to the intensive care unit on November 21 but developed multi-organ failure and suffered several cardiac arrests which he did not survive. The new report published in July included a range of recommendations for the NHS. It concluded: 'Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother's instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services.' Speaking at a press conference in Rotherham in July, Yusuf's mother, Soniya Ahmed, said: 'For the medical staff there are lessons to be learnt from this tragedy, but for us, our life, Yusuf has been taken away from us in the most horrific way. 'Every night when I close my eyes I hear Yusuf's helpless voice in my ears saying, 'Mummy, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I really can't'.' Ms Ahmed choked back tears as she said: 'We want to know how our son has died and who is responsible, and the only way we will get these answers is with an inquest. The family demand an inquest.' The new report by Peter Carter, former general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said Yusuf had 23 separate healthcare contacts across four organisations 'with no single, co-ordinated record or oversight, contributing to fragmented and disjointed care'. The family said they were most surprised by the report's findings in relation to Sheffield Children's Hospital, including that it used an outdated cannula method which deprived Yusuf of drugs he needed. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said last month: 'There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead-up to Yusuf's death and I know first-hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve.'
The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘Anti-vax' mum ‘interrupted' paramedics trying to save dying daughter- claiming heart attack was her ‘choking on food'
THE mum of a young model who died after refusing chemotherapy for cancer "presented a challenge" to paramedics trying to save her daughter's life. Paloma Shemirani, 23, from Uckfield, East Sussex, was diagnosed at Maidstone Hospital with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2023. 7 7 7 She died seven months later in July 2024 after seeking only "alternative" treatments, which included green juices and coffee enemas. Her mum, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani is a former nurse, struck off in 2021 for spreading anti-medicine and anti-vaccine Covid-19 misinformation. She has, in public, expressed views against chemotherapy, by calling the treatment dangerous and toxic - which she has since said is "not true" at an ongoing inquest into Paloma's death. When Paloma collapsed at her mother's home on July 19 paramedic Robin Bass said Kate "presented a challenge as she kept interrupting while the crews were carrying out care", the BBC reports. He told the coroner that Kate mentioned a mass on her daughter's chest. When Robin told colleagues it could be cancer, he said Kate denied it was. Instead, Kate said Paloma was choking on food. Paloma, a Cambridge graduate and a Miss Universe Great Britain 2021 finalist, then died just five days later at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after suffering a heart attack caused by her tumour. Dr Peter Anderson, who saw her when paramedics brought her in, previously told the inquest a large mass in her chest and neck. He said the mass was compressing her airways and affecting major blood vessels, could have caused the cardiac arrest. A safeguarding report was later requested over concerns about Paloma's rejection of cancer treatment and the "possible influence" of her mother. Benjamin Zand interviews Kate Shemirani for new QAnon documentary The Cult of Conspiracy Paloma's twin brother, Gabriel, who blames her death on his mother's conspiratorial beliefs, previously told the inquest that when Paloma was first diagnosed she was considering chemotherapy. She only rejected the treatment, which she was told would give her an 80 per cent chance of recovery, when her parents started to pressure her against it, he claimed. "I blame my mother entirely for my sister's death", he said, by "obstructing" his sister from receiving treatment. The former nurse said she would have supported her daughter 'physically and financially' whatever her decision on receiving treatment. Alison Hewitt, counsel at the inquest, asked Kate last week: 'It is the case, isn't it, that you have expressed publicly views which are contrary to chemotherapy... you consider chemotherapy is a dangerous and toxic process and one that you wouldn't advise someone suffering cancer undergoes?' At the time, Kate branded the question 'slanderous' and 'not true', adding: 'In all my public appearances I say people should get all the information and then decide.' 7 7 When pushed on whether she had described chemotherapy as mustard gas, she replied: 'This is not relevant. You're making slanderous accusations. People should be able to choose.' Earlier in the hearing, when describing the months before her daughter's death, Kate said Paloma had chosen treatment which included nutrition, juices and spiritual support. Gabriel asked if she had made the paramedics' job more difficult that night. Robin said: "I believe we had to be quite firm at some points… had to ask for quiet while administering care to your sister." The coroner previously heard that Kate, who was involved in Paloma's "alternative treatment" called her friend before calling an ambulance the day her daughter collapsed. Gabriel asked another paramedic at the inquest, who also treated Paloma, if his mum's delay in calling an ambulance affected her chance of survival. "It's difficult to say," said Karen Clarke, a critical care paramedic. "You always recommend someone calling 999 straight away." Gabriel asked Karen if she would have called a friend first, she replied she would have called an ambulance first. Kate has previously accused doctors and paramedics of killing Paloma. 7 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, as recommended by the NHS Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is usually treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, although some people may not need treatment straight away. In a few cases, if the initial cancer is very small and can be removed during a biopsy, no further treatment may be needed. If non-Hodgkin lymphoma is low grade (slow developing) and a person is well, a period of "watch and wait" is often recommended. This is because some people take many years to develop troublesome symptoms and starting treatment immediately is often felt to be unnecessary. But in other cases, chemotherapy is used to kill cancer cells. If non-Hodgkin lymphoma doesn't get better with initial treatment (known as refractory lymphoma), you may have a course of chemotherapy at a stronger dose. But this intensive chemotherapy destroys your bone marrow, and can lead to the following side effects: nausea and vomiting diarrhoea loss of appetite mouth ulcers tiredness skin rashes hair loss infertility, which may be temporary or permanent A stem cell or bone marrow transplant is then needed to replace the damaged bone marrow. Radiotherapy is most often used to treat early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where the cancer is only in one part of the body. And for some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, you may have a type of medicine called a monoclonal antibody. These medicines attach themselves to both healthy and cancerous cells, and signal to the immune system to attack and kill the cells. Other potential non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatments include: Cancer growth blockers Steroid medicine Immunotherapy Source: NHS
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Mass evacuation after chemical incident at major London hospital: Firefighters rush to scene as 150 patients and medical staff told to leave
A chemical incident has forced a major London hospital to evacuate as firefighters rush to the scene and patients and medical staff are told to leave. Around 150 people have been evacuated from the basement and ground floor levels of Guy's Hospital in Southwark, southeast London, by firefighters and hospital staff. The London Fire Brigade was first called about the incident at 8.49am, with crews from Whitechapel, Dowgate, Euston and surrounding fire stations sent to the scene. Pictured: Patients, medical staff and visitors seen on Stainer Street near London Bridge station Two fire engines, two Fire Rescue Units, a Command Unit and specialist hazardous materials officers are in attendance. Crews are carrying out operations to ventilate the building. Images posted on social media show crowds of people on Stainer Street outside Guy's Hospital.
