Pool repair bill leaves patients high and dry

Mary Robinson has had no water therapy for 10 months since the closure of the region's only warm water hydrotherapy pool. Photo / The Aucklander

People who need therapy at the Auckland region's only warm water pool have been left high and dry by a repair bill, reports The Aucklander.

The hydrotherapy pool at Laura Fergusson Trust's Rehabilitation Centre has a long, sloping ramp for water wheelchairs and a submerged window so physiotherapists can watch patients' progress.

Opened in March 1998, the pool operated seven days a week and was available for community groups to hire.

On-site physiotherapist Sandie Alexander says it allowed clients in wheelchairs to enjoy the feeling of being upright and the warm water meant even with little movement, they wouldn't get too cold.

However, high humidity from the warm water caused structure failure in the roof. The pool was closed immediately; the cost to replace the roof and walls is estimated to be $560,000.

Mary Robinson has had no water therapy for 10 months because this is the only suitable pool in Auckland and it's been closed since last November.

Ms Robinson, who suffers from the rare, multisystem-affecting POEMS syndrome, spent 18 months in hospital before becoming a resident at Laura Fergusson Trust.

"When I first came here I couldn't do much in the gym, but the pool kept me buoyant and I could walk in the water and do all kinds of things I couldn't do on dry land."

The director of fundraising, Gillian Eagle, says the trust has raised $300,000 for the pool through donations and grants and now needs $160,000 to begin the repairs.

"We're just so close and, almost every day, we get people ringing up to see if the pool is open yet. We know that for a lot of people their progress has gone downhill since the pool closed."

For the full story, see today's Central and South editions of The Aucklander or go to www.theaucklander.co.nz.