Disability Facilities in Private Leisure Centre

pelevin

Hi, I'm wondering about the legal obligations for a club regarding disabled facilities. I have an adopted sister with spina bifida a fair bit younger than me who I bring swimming to a local hotel's leisure centre of which we are both members. She is now 14 and has been going there almost all her life. There is a disabled changing room which has a chair with wheels which she showers on. Other than that there are no extras in terms of facilities. Now at her age I have to try to dry here, change her into a pull-up nappy, clothe her all done on her own wheelchair - which is now fairly ridiculously difficult.

I am a bit amazed to learn from my mum that several years back Enable Ireland came to the leisure centre to measure up the room for the installing of a special bench to aid her changing there. My mum had already at that stage had a major heart attack & a bypass and had to change my then much younger sister on the floor which was of course very arduous for her. It seems then however the owners of the hotel refused to pay for the installing of a bench and a fair few years later this is how things remain.

I have asked lately about a bench - not knowing the above details had earlier happened, and the manager of the centre says she is looking into it and hopefully something will come of it. Who knows though - maybe the owners will again refuse to have anything done. I wasn't asking for any special thing in terms of the nature of the bench but we'll see anyway what will happen. I am wondering what is the story regarding legal obligations if any for a leisure centre regarding such facilities, thanks.

skippy2

Sorry to hear about your sister and well done bringing her to the pool................In fairness to the leisure centre anything they have to provide would have been covered in their planning permission. So legally they probably provide all they have to. If its a Hotel LC they also have limitation on space I imagine. They can also cut membership etc when they please. I would stay on their good side and be reasonable with them. It seems they faciliate you pretty ok as it is. Maybe a nice letter to the GM, saying how you love the facilities etc explaining the situation might help. Could you offer to contribute to the cost....they probably would not accept it anyway..... Sometimes the message doesnt get to the right people.

pelevin

skippy2 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your sister and well done bringing her to the pool................In fairness to the leisure centre anything they have to provide would have been covered in their planning permission. So legally they probably provide all they have to. If its a Hotel LC they also have limitation on space I imagine. They can also cut membership etc when they please. I would stay on their good side and be reasonable with them. It seems they faciliate you pretty ok as it is. Maybe a nice letter to the GM, saying how you love the facilities etc explaining the situation might help. Could you offer to contribute to the cost....they probably would not accept it anyway..... Sometimes the message doesnt get to the right people.

Thanks for the response though I'd disagree quite strongly in certain aspects. Having to be changed on what is also a toilet floor for example isn't what I'd consider being facilitated ok. This term her school had begun to bring her to the school on one morning a week because of her not being able for whatever class the others are taking. This has quickly stopped however as her SNA (Special Needs Assistant) considers it unfeasible to try and change her in such circumstances. Also if I am not there to help her, then swimming there is impossible for her due to the lack of a bench to change on afterwards.

Not that I'm having a go at you! but I was asking what were in effect the rights of a disabled person in such an environment. To think this situation is ok would for me be considering that the disabled person hasn't any real rights but should instead be grateful for what pity is extended them in what they are given. We're not talking about much here also in terms of facilities - a bench to change on.

looksee

I know this is probably not much help, but, especially if the hotel is part of a chain, they may not have much control over the situation. Insurance would probably say that if they provide a bench for a disabled person it has to be of a specific design and quality so that a somewhat helpless person could not fall off. If there is no bench they cannot be held responsible for an accident with it.

Then the next person comes along and complains that a bench is not very private or dignified for changing and so on and so on. Very exasperating but as long as the courts pay attention to people making money grubbing claims for slips on 'wet' floors then it is not going to improve.

pelevin

Thanks Looksee. Have you any idea though if it may be a genuine question of rights for disabled - such as numbers of disabled parking spaces in somewhere else, lifts provided, etc. Is it simply a question of it being up to the proprietors what they provide?

looksee

I suppose they cannot make rules for absolutely every situation and really all they can do is insist on basic rights of access. I really do wish it were possible for people to have a bit more lee-way in these situations, but as I said, once you make a provision you become responsible for it. So that when someone else then tries to push it for their own gain, insurance companies step in to say no to anyone else doing it.

Is there a solution? I don't know. It is basically down to education and civic mindedness, but that is a slow up-hill battle.

pelevin

Thanks, I'm far from a pushy confrontational type & get on well with all the staff at the leisure centre so i'm not going to start screaming or anything but as my sister is growing up it is certainly becoming much more of an issue - and for my mum obviously was a huge issue previously. As it is there is no way she can handle my sister now at the pool as things stand.

Again, thanks for the help.