Jane – The Lakes Pool Case Study

The Full Story

Jane completed her level 3 Hydrotherapy qualification and located a new business premises before coming to Westcoast for advice.

Westcoast’s Project Manager, Lewis met with Jane at her proposed site, a working dairy farm. Jane and the Farmer had selected a redundant building that they hoped would be suitable for converting into a Hydrotherapy business.

Janes priority was to have a large pool, she had plenty of space available to her and after discussing all of her options she decided upon purchasing an Ullswater pool 7.5m x 3.1m and 1.5m deep. Fortunately, there was good clear access into the building, so getting the pool inside was not going to cause too many problems. The building had considerable headroom, so Jane decided that she wanted the pool installed above ground. While this did not cause Westcoast any problems, it did mean that the pool had to undergo a large amount of structural reinforcement to maintain the integrity of the pool above ground, this in turn did increase the cost of the pool. If the pool had been placed partially below ground, the amount of structural reinforcement would have been reduced.

Although the pool depth was designed to be 1.5m, Lewis advised that this would be too deep for Jane to safely manage her patients, if she were to be in the pool with them. Therefore, when the pool was having its equipment fitted, the skimmer was placed at a lower level, to ensure that the water level could not go above 1.2m. This in turn created a splash back all around the pool, that would help to retain the overspill from swimmers.

The pool was fitted with both steps and a ramp internally, and now the Westcoast engineers had to design a suitable external ramp to allow the operator to safely get the patients up to the top of the pool. Remember, the pool is completely above ground 1.5m! The Westcoast engineers constructed a long, wide non-slip, ramp with a gentle slope, and to provide additional safety, they also fitted stainless steel handrails along with toughened glass panels to ensure no one fell off the ramp.

Westcoast completed the installation with an Air Source Heat Pump, to help keep future running costs as low as possible and a specialist pool room Dehumidifier to keep her work space comfortable and at the correct humidity. A system of cameras was installed, two within the pool showing underwater images of the swimmer, especially useful for the operator to see via a large screen how the patient is moving. Two additional cameras are installed in the reception area, so when the operator is in the pool, he or she can monitor the reception and the arrival of the next patient.

Janes new centre boasts an impressive entrance and reception area along with treatment rooms where visiting Physiotherapists hold regular sessions.