SWIMMING POOL CLOSURES
29/11/2012
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:51): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Disabilities some questions regarding the impending closure of swimming pools used by people with a disability in Adelaide.
Leave granted.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: You may recall that on 1 November the Hon. Mark Parnell asked a number of questions regarding the very important issue of the closure of the Balyana swimming pool. The pool at Balyana is, as the honourable member quite rightly pointed out in his questions, a well attended and much loved fixture in the local community of Mitcham. The pool is used by many local schools and other community groups as a venue for swimming lessons and, as such, plays a key role in promoting the aquatic safety of the young people in that region.
Also of great significance to the local community is the pool’s use as a venue for hydrotherapy sessions for the elderly, those recovering from surgery and people with a disability. The pool’s closure is likely to exacerbate the existing shortage of hydrotherapy services in the local area. The location is such a focal point of the local community. The Bedford Group’s Balyana site, as a flow-on benefit, has also done a great deal to aid the inclusion and integration of Balanda’s residents into the local community.
For these reasons, I find the closure of the Balyana pool greatly concerning and was similarly concerned when my office was contacted by constituents from the city’s northern suburbs, who indicated that they had been instructed that the swimming pool at the Hampstead centre would also be closing. Like the facilities at Balyana, the Hampstead swimming pool is a significant part of the local community. It too is a venue for swimming lessons and offers hydrotherapy, which is vital, and, as one might expect, has a particular focus on rehab services and people with a disability.
As with the services at the Balyana pool, the Hampstead centre swimming pool functions as a vital link between the centre and the surrounding community and aids in the inclusion of those receiving services from Hampstead into the local community. A further concern I hold in relation to the closure of the Hampstead centre swimming pool is the fact that a significant number of people with a disability who have received rehabilitation at the Hampstead centre have gone to considerable effort and expense to relocate to the area in order to be able to access services in that area. My questions to the minister are:
1.Is the minister aware of plans to close the swimming pool at the Hampstead centre?
2.Is the minister concerned about the effect that the closure of the swimming pools, such as those at Balyana and the Hampstead centre, will have on the availability of already scarce hydrotherapy services?
3.Is the minister aware of any plans to ensure that people living in the affected communities will still have access to local hydrotherapy services?
4.Is the minister aware of any connection between the closure of the Hampstead pool and the relocation of rehabilitation services to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital recently initiated by the Minister for Health?
The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. There are specialised hydrotherapy services, I am advised, at the Flinders Medical Centre that may be accessible to the community.
I am also advised that Minda have a purpose-built swimming pool in the southern metropolitan area, and it includes access via a wheelchair ramp for people with a disability, which can be utilised by the public. It is currently closed, I am advised, since the beginning of this month for renovations, and will open again in due course. I understand the Repat Hospital at Daw Park offers hydrotherapy services to inpatients and outpatients, as well as those who have a referral from a physio. I think that service is available all year round. I am not quite sure, but I imagine it would have a wheelchair hoist of some description.
I understand also that the Griffiths Rehabilitation Hospital at Hove provides hydrotherapy services to members of the public, and the pool has a hydraulic lifter. People can also use, as I mentioned previously in answers to similar questions, the brand new, state-of-the-art, climate-controlled facilities at the State Aquatic Centre at Marion. I have to reiterate, however, that the Balyana pool is private property owned by Bedford and, in relation to the Hampstead pool, I understand questions about that need to be directed to the Minister for Health in the other place.
The PRESIDENT: A supplementary question: the Hon. Ms Vincent.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (14:56): Is the minister aware that many consumers might have their options limited again by the fact that many hydrotherapy pools in particular do not have both a hoist and a ramp for those who are unable to use the hoist and have to use a ramp, or vice versa?
The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:56): Mr President, as I indicated, the hydrotherapy services are functions of Health. I am not aware of the exact facilities at most of those sites. I did mention a few in my response to give information to the house, but I certainly cannot comment on facilities and their availability across the metropolitan area.
