HSPer voices dissent over Council decision
HSP community member Sharon Pryde has used the Riverton WA Leisureplex’s hydrotherapy pool for the past six years to help with hereditary spastic paraplegia, a neurological condition, which forces her to use crutches to walk. She said she was “dumbfounded” the City of Canning had completely ignored the needs of people with physical disabilities.
“The additional exclusive use allocated to swim school creates unreasonable times for therapy users to use the pool, which will be difficult to accommodate due to working full-time in the northern suburbs of Perth and having a physiotherapist with me in the pool to assist in my exercise program,” she said.
Sharon said she used the pool for 60 to 90 minutes and needed as much space as possible to go through her various exercises, so sharing was difficult. “As a disabled person, I cannot use the pool as a shared-use facility with swim school due to the space required to complete exercises and I cannot use the leisure pools as they have children running around and the pools are not heated suitably for therapy purposes,” she said.
Fellow hydrotherapy pool user Lyla Petty works in Perth and attends after work, to maintain flexibility and strength post-knee and wrist surgery. She said the change would affect her. “I will have no flexibility and will be unable to attend,” she said. “This is a rare facility and many travel from outside the City of Canning just to access.”
See the full article here: https://www.communitynews.com.au/canning-times/news/riverton-leisureplex-hydrotherapy-pool-users-hit-out-over-exclusion-from-prime-time-slots/
SOURCE: Canning Times News, December 18th, 2018
Riverton Leisureplex hydrotherapy pool users hit out over exclusion from prime time slots
by Ben Smith