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St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool
E-Newsletter Issue 11
August 2014
In this issue: Stuart Jackson MP Visits 2000th User Inspire Peterborough
Manager’s Message Board User Profile Spa Feature Safe Place Scheme Update on Purchases Physio Exercise
Contact Information
St George’s Welcomes Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson
Read more...
Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson’s visit… Page 2
Our 2000th Users and Tim Brawn’s Story… Page 7
The afternoon of Thursday 24th July 2014 turned out to be an important one
for St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool when the pool received a much
appreciated visit from local MP Stewart Jackson, and by coincidence welcomed
its 2000th customers too.
A moment of serious reflection
(L-R)
Healthwatch Peterborough’s Chair,
David Whiles and Chief Operating
Officer, Angela Burrows with
Stewart Jackson MP, Pool Manager
Thomas Booker, Intelligence
Manager for Communities and
Targeted Services, Hayley
Thornhill and Assistant Community
Cohesion Manager, Ian Phillips
from Peterborough City Council.
Healthwatch’s Chief Operating Officer, Angela Burrows,
marked the occasion by presenting the youngsters with
goody bags; the staff provided refreshments. Both Louis
and Olivia said they were definitely looking forward to
coming again.
Nine-year-old Louis and his sister seven-year-old Olivia Webster-Brawn from Alconbury were our joint
2000th registered customers at St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool. Owing to the summer holidays,
they were able to accompany and support their uncle Tim during a private session. Afterwards Louis and
Olivia said that they had greatly enjoyed their pool session – “It was a lot of fun.” They particularly
enjoyed the spa and playing with the balls and nets, while their uncle worked with aquatic physiotherapist
Pat Baker. Their mum, Sarah, said she also thought it would be a good experience for the pair to meet
people with many different abilities.
2000th Users: Louis and Olivia Webster-Brawn
Carers’ Trust Cambridgeshire
We were delighted to learn that the Carers’ Trust Cambridgeshire give printed copies of our
newsletter to their interested clients – thank you!
http://www.carerstrustcambridgeshire.org/
St George’s Welcomes Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson
Mr Jackson, who was keen to visit the facility, was met by St George’s staff, service users, Friends,
Healthwatch Peterborough and Peterborough City Council Officers. Mr Jackson was shown around the
facility and sat and spent time listening and chatting with everyone. Amongst the topics discussed were
the health benefits derived from hydrotherapy, the importance of promoting these more widely, and the
securing of funding to ensure that a facility and a service continues to be available to those living in the
Peterborough area.
Mr Jackson said, “It was great to meet the community campaigners who have worked so hard to keep this
invaluable facility in our area going and I appreciated their warm welcome and our discussions.
St George's has the potential to augment the mainstream health services in the city if only it had a higher
profile and its vital role in recovery and rehabilitation for a wide range of patients was more widely known.
I was not aware of the importance of the hydrotherapy facilities and the numbers, which used it on an
annual basis, saving the NHS thousands of pounds each year.
We need to look to the future post 2016 to try to secure long term capital and revenue funding and I will
do all I can to help in this respect, both locally in Peterborough and in Parliament."
Angela Burrows, Chief Operating Officer
for Healthwatch Peterborough, wrote,
“We are delighted that access to
hydrotherapy for Peterborough residents
continues to go from strength to
strength. The use of aquatic therapy
provides great opportunities for both
preventative action and self-management
of our health and wellbeing. Healthwatch
Peterborough, who has been involved from
the very beginning to secure this
provision, will continue to support and
champion this service.
We were delighted to once again meet the service-users and hear their own reasons why the pool provides
great outcomes from them and their families/carers. This was a great opportunity for our local MP to hear
the voice of local residents and what they want.
The fact that 2000 people have used the pool demonstrates the demand for such a service, remembering
that almost all pay to use the pool. Seeing the joint-2000th users in the pool and later providing the goody
bags - was very rewarding too.” On a personal note, Angela also confided, “It is always such a joy to come
down to the pool.”
Everyone was delighted that Mr Jackson had taken the time and trouble to visit St George’s and had shown
such interest. It was considered a positive, educative, and encouraging meeting. We are confident that all
the representatives present, along with all our other partners and supporters, will continue to work
together to secure the long-term future of this vital service.
Inspire Peterborough
Have you heard of Inspire Peterborough, the recently established charitable organization that
promotes and provides a network of sport, leisure, health and wellbeing, and physical activities to
disabled people of all ages?
Naturally, St George’s wished to be involved and included. Therefore, we asked Inspire
Peterborough’s Business Lead, Sue Mitchell, to tell us more about the organization’s work.
The 2012 Paralympic Games was an inspiration to many people across the UK and here in Peterborough. Based on this
wonderful legacy, Inspire Peterborough was launched just over a year ago firmly grounded in the views and aspirations of
local disabled people.
As a relatively new initiative the small team consisting of Bryan Tyler, Disability Forum Manager (whom many will know),
Nikki Griffiths, Development Manager and Sue Mitchell are now working hard to capture and develop the host of innovative
ideas and opportunities being created as a result of partners working together under the ‘Inspire’ brand.
So what does Inspire Peterborough do?
Inspire aims to increase levels of participation in disability sporting and recreational activity through improving
choice, availability and access for people with disabilities, long term conditions (LTCs), their families and carers.
During Inspire’s short life we have worked with a number of partners and particularly with the YMCA. Mark and Brenda have
both been supported by YMCA’s personal trainers to become fitter and as a result more active and mobile, both having
achieved significant weight loss (in excess of 20 stones between the two). To find out more about Mark and Brenda’s stories
and many others, or to find out how you can access personal support come and talk to us and our colleagues at the YMCA
Community Gym.
Mark and Brenda’s Stories
0000 Website - www.inspirepeterborough.com
0000 Email - [email protected]
0000 Facebook - www.facebook.com/InspirePeterborough
0000 Twitter - https://twitter.com/InspirePboro
Action
We organise or take part in specific events to showcase disability sporting opportunities and to offer taster sessions for
all ages. Recent examples include Sporting Saturday (January 2014) and the Pearl Izumi Tour series (May 2014) where
Inspire partnered with local cycling clubs to organise the first ever wheel chair race in the city centre and also time trials
for local cycling clubs with GB and Paralympic athletes taking part (May 2014). We were really pleased that the amazing
Jade Etherington, 4 times Paralympic gold medallist at the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games agreed to join us for the
afternoon to award the medals.
Find out more about Jade on our website.
The picture above shows Jade with our local Phantoms wheelchair Ice Hockey Team members who are also members of
Team GB’s ice hockey team.
On 4th September we will be holding a big celebration event in Ferry Meadows to launch our programme of activities
funded through the Sport England Inclusive Sport Fund. We are timing the event to coincide with the first National Active
Britain Challenge (ABC). ABC is a new national day of action called by the Disability Action Alliance. Our event will
include a host of partners delivering all sorts of land-based and water-based activities in one of the most beautiful
settings in the city. We do hope St George’s members and their families and carers will come and join us at this free
event between 11.00am and 4.00pm. Lord Holmes of Richmond, MBE, blind multi-gold medallist paralympic swimmer
has agreed to join us to celebrate disability sport and activity at the ABC event and we are waiting for confirmation that
the new minister for Disabled People will be able to join us as well.
Communication and marketing Practically we’re developing our role as a central information hub, raising awareness about what’s available across the city,
the latest news and linking up people with disabilities with local disability sporting and recreational providers. In a recent
local survey many disabled respondents cited social media as their preferred method of communication and for sourcing
information. We are continually adding to and updating information on the website although this is always a work in
progress! We also keep in touch with our increasing number of followers via our Facebook pages and Twitter.
Keep in Touch
…and finally
This has been an exciting first year for Inspire. It has developed from an idea to a reality, supported by many individuals,
partners and commissioners. We are at an early stage on our journey and there is so much potential but we need your help!
We really need to understand what you would like, when and how! If you don’t really know what’s out there or feel it’s not for
you let’s talk.
We are developing a new pilot initiative that we’re calling Sports Champions who are qualified fitness instructors and health
trainers. Sports Champions will be based in GP surgeries as well as working with rehabilitation programmes around the city.
We hope to base one of our colleagues at St George’s so that you can talk directly to someone who understands your
situation and can help you on the road to improved health and wellbeing. We’ll keep you updated on progress!!
Best wishes from the Inspire Team
Sport England Funding
“This is a tremendous boost for the people of Peterborough,
further enabling sporting opportunities across the city. The grant
will mean more people, regardless of disability, will have the
chance to try out and play sport and experience all the benefits
that will bring. It’s such a tangible example of the legacy
flowing from the London 2012 Paralympic Games”
Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE – 9 times Paralympic Champion swimmer
What is funded?
- Archery
- Swimming
- Cricket
- Handcycling
- Sports champions in GP practices
- Sports taster sessions linked to health
programmes
- Website and social media development
'Manager's Message Board'
Number crunching – 1 year (and 3 months) on.
Over the last year or so, business at St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool has
gone from strength to strength. Nowadays, 81.3% of public spaces and 95% of private
sessions are used on average per week. It is humbling to see that, since May 2013, over
570 new users have signed up to the pool’s service, with around 200 people regularly
using the pool each week.
As you shall read elsewhere in this newsletter, it is with great delight that in July we welcomed our 2000th
self-referring pool user. Here’s to the next 2000!
The new public physiotherapy and aquatic fitness classes we now hold at the pool have expanded the
service St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool provides, with 93 people taking advantage of our public
physiotherapy sessions in one year; 93 people who have paid for treatment themselves, and who would have
otherwise been referred through the NHS, if the option were available.
I should like to thank
Peterborough City Council for
the new pool filter they kindly
bought and fitted, which has
improved the quality of the
pool water substantially. A big
thank you must also go to the
Friends of St George’s for
generously donating paint,
equipment and help to
refurbish the changing rooms.
They look so much better now!
I cannot help but wonder how many more people are suffering
in pain and who could benefit from seeing Pat or Lee (our
aquatic physiotherapists). Thankfully, at the time of writing,
the NHS is close to being able to fund a limited number of
patient referrals directly to St George’s once again, and I look
forward to welcoming new people to the pool and introducing
them to the benefits that hydrotherapy can bring.
We are introducing baby water confidence classes in
September (see below for more details), and I am currently
looking to expand our services further by introducing Water
T’ai Chi (or “Ai chi”) classes for people wanting to relax and
focus on stress relief.
If you are interested, come and talk to me the next time you’re
at the pool, or if you’d prefer, contact me using the details at
the back of this newsletter.
In July 2014 at the University of Freiburg, research was conducted to identify therapeutic benefits of
hydrotherapy and balneotherapy (what you receive when you relax in our spa) for sufferers of fibromyalgia.
It found:
“Moderate to strong” evidence for a small reduction in pain and a small increase in health-related quality of
life [HRQOL] for hydrotherapy
“Moderate to strong” evidence for a medium-to-large reduction in pain and a medium increase in HRQOL for
balneotherapy.
If you know of anyone who has fibromyalgia, why not recommend St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool
to them?
On Thursday September 11th we team up with Water Babies to hold our long-awaited Baby Water Confidence/
swimming classes at the pool. These shall be held on Thursdays from 1pm – 2pm. We have already sorted the
time booking, so if you would like to book in to these classes or to find out more information, please contact the
course co-ordinator, Debi Hogston, by calling 01933 277 035 or by e-mailing [email protected]
User Profile: Our 2000th Users and Tim’s Story…
On 24th July, St George’s welcomed its 2000th self-referring customers - Louis and
Olivia Webster-Brawn.
Owing to the summer holidays, nine-year-old Louis and seven-year-old Olivia were
accompanying their mother Sarah, and uncle, Tim Brawn, into the pool for the first
time.
Tim and Sarah (Tim’s sister who acts as his carer during these visits) are familiar faces at St George’s as
they have been regularly using the pool since the start of the year.
In May 2013, Tim was single-handedly managing the family’s 400-hectare (just under 1000 acres) arable
farm in Alconbury, when he suffered a major stroke. This was followed by a further stroke in hospital.
Sarah describes the strokes as life threatening; the family were not sure if Tim would pull through - but he
did. However, the strokes left him with severe left-sided upper and lower limb weakness and balance
difficulties. Tim spent four and a half months in hospital but left in a weak state.
It was only later that a Consultant Orthotist at Hinchingbrooke Hospital called Chris Bracknell suggested
hydrotherapy as treatment. Chris had received hydrotherapy himself some years earlier after a motorbike
accident and thought it would benefit Tim.
In late January, Tim, accompanied by Sarah, arrived at St George’s for the first time. They started with
one private session with aquatic physiotherapist Patricia Baker every week. By March, Tim had made
progress and gained enough confidence and strength to enable the pair to come twice a week: a private
session with Pat but also a public session. In fact, hydrotherapy came to play such a critical role in Tim’s
rehabilitation that family say that they now base their entire week around their sessions at St George’s; all
other appointments have to fit around these. Sarah feels that her brother has made more progress in the
past six months since he has begun hydrotherapy than he appeared to make in the first few months after
his stroke, a time when faster progress is normally expected. When Tim started, he required a great deal
of support and was wholly dependent on flotation aids. However, since beginning aquatic physiotherapy he
has gained movement in his left leg and improved strength and movement in his left arm, with which he can
now reach out. He has now progressed to the point where he can swim independently too. Tim has
continued to work on his land-based physiotherapy but explains that he has encountered problems when
attempting to weight bear. This has caused a painful problem in his left knee. He says, “It is so much
easier and less painful when attempting this in the warm water.” Both would definitely recommend
hydrotherapy at St George’s. Sarah says, “This is an excellent place to come and improve mobility. We
have found it very useful. The staff are all so helpful; they are hands-on and cope with such a wide range
of users yet still manage to give the personal touch.”
Tim is currently missing the harvesting but hopes that he will be able to assist next year. We are sure
everyone reading this would like to wish him and his family well.
Pat says, “Tim has improved over the last 3 months
not only physically but mentally. He gained great
strength and confidence by using the principles of
water to help him adjust to his new balance and
new functional movements that the stroke has left
him with. He really enjoys the freedom that the
pool can offer him and he always leaves with a huge
grin from the achievements he has made with each
session. With the encouragement of all the staff
and his magical family support, Tim has come a long
way. I hope he continues to improve.”
Aquatic physiotherapist Pat Baker works with Tim in the pool.
The pool’s popular spa provided a welcome and refreshing conclusion to regular users
Myra and Lynn exercise session during the hot weather.
The pair are friends and usually come together. Myra (left) says, “I absolutely enjoy coming to the pool.
The warm water loosens up all my muscles and joints and eases my pain. The spa in particular is excellent.”
Lynn (right) also endorses the pool and spa. “I use the hydrotherapy pool and spa twice a week. I find it
very beneficial. The heated water and massaging jets in the spa eases my aches and pains in my hips and
legs.”
Feature: St George’s Spa
St George’s is proud to be part of the Safe Place Scheme
“The heated water and massaging jets in the spa eases my aches and pains. “
Have you noticed the Safe Place sticker that has recently appeared at our entrance? The Safe Place
sticker identifies where an adult with a learning disability can, in the case of an
emergency, receive help to make a call to a parent, carer, support worker or to
an emergency service in their moment of crisis.
To find out more about the scheme, please visit:-
www.peterborough.gov.uk/safeplace or telephone 01733 452511.
You can also pick up a leaflet from the pool.
Health Walks in Peterborough
If this might be of interest to you then Sarah Leadbetter, the Health and Wellbeing Manager at Vivacity,
would very much like to hear from you. She says,
“Walking makes you happy and keeps you healthy. Over 70,000 people walk with us regularly and we'll support
you to get started too. We are looking to launch health walks back into Peterborough – if you are interested in
becoming a walk leader, we provide free training that enables you to lead a walk from your community /
workplace safely and at the correct levels to get the maximum out of your walk. If you are interested please
call Sarah Leadbetter on 01733 864764 or email [email protected] to find out
more information please visit http://www.vivacity-peterborough.com/sport-and-leisure/specialist-health-
services/walkingforhealth/”
Update on purchases made by Friends of St George’s
Since the last newsletter, your generosity has enabled the
Friends of St George’s to buy:
Decorating materials to refresh both changing rooms and toilets
A pair of inflatable dice for pool activities
A watering can for sensory and water confidence activities
Four baby changing mats for classes
Two additional swimming seats for the new baby water confidence classes
New St George’s uniforms for Josh, Tara, Ashley and Andy
The Friends were delighted to be able to support the staff in this way. Sam Ring, one of the signatories
says, “The lifeguards are going to look so smart and professional in their new uniforms, I'm sure it will give
them a great feeling of pride and belonging in a community facility that delivers brilliant user experiences.
We all know how daunting it is for new users when they first arrive, first impressions are so important and
with new uniforms, it will make it so much easier for them to know who to approach.
I am delighted we, The Friends of St George’s, could purchase these for the team.”
If there is a piece of equipment that we do not have that could improve your experience at
St George’s, please tell a member of staff as the Friends would be delighted to help, if possible.
Exercise Corner
Physio sessions:
Thursdays at 3pm and 5pm.
Fridays at 2:30pm and 3:30pm.
Price only £10.
Each session includes a personalised exercise plan for you each time you
come, developed during your session in the pool.
Private 1:1 session with aquatic physiotherapist also available.
In this newsletter, we focus on your arms, shoulders and elbows.
Great for building up core strength, give these exercises a go. If you have fibromyalgia, try these out as well, for the
greater the resistance your arms encounter as they move through the water (within reason), the more pain relief you
will eventually experience.
1. “Diving Downward”.
Don’t worry, there’s no actual diving involved in this exercise.
• Start with your legs apart and your arms straight, stretched out from the sides, with your palms facing
downwards. (Fig. A)
• Keeping your arms straight, swing your hands down and inwards across your front, then back out to where they
were again (x3). (Fig. B)
• Then do the same, but this time swing your hands down and inwards behind your back, and then outward back to
where they were (x3).
• You can also try this exercise with your palms facing
upwards
• To add (a lot of) resistance, you can hold onto dumbbells
while doing this exercise.
Fig. A Fig. B
2. “All Rise”.
• Start with your legs apart, with arms straight, down by your sides, with palms facing forward (Fig. C)
• Bend at your elbows upwards, bringing your fists up to shoulder height, then downwards (Fig. D). Repeat 10
times
• To add resistance, hold onto dumbbells while doing this exercise.
Fig. C Fig. D
Bookings and Information
We Are Supported By
Public Session Prices:
£4 - Per session
£35 - Block bookings of 10 sessions
£5 - Aquafit class
£10 - Physio class
£90 - Private 1:1 session with an aquatic therapist
Appointments are always necessary
Public Opening Hours:
Monday 09.30 - 13.00
Tuesday 09.30 - 13.30
Wednesday 10.30 - 13.30
Thursday 13.00 - 19.00
Friday 10.00 - 14.00
Saturday 10.00 - 14.00
Sunday Closed
01733 453 583
St George’s Community Hydrotherapy Pool,
367 Dogsthorpe Road,
Peterborough,
PE1 3RE
https://www.facebook.com/stgeorgespool
https://www.facebook.com/friendsofstgeorgescommunityhydrotherapypool
https://twitter.com/pborohydropool
www.sgchp.btck.co.uk
