Albury's Janine Gould gets 20 calls a month about pool accessibility

Twin City disability advocates and health professionals have called for a fully accessible indoor pool, complete with ramps, hoists, a stable 34 degree temperature ideal for hydrotherapy, accessible change rooms and available for public use all year round.

Director of Albury's Gould Swim Academy Janine Gould said there was a huge need for such a facility in Albury-Wodonga.

"We definitely need a rehab or hydro pool in our local community for the whole community to be able to access," she said.

The swim instructor said in a typical month she would get about 20 phone calls from members of the community with disabilities or those recovering from surgeries or injuries wondering if they could use her indoor pool.

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"There's a massive need for that service for people with disabilities," she said.

"Sometimes it's the only exercise they can do with their bodies and also rehab work for a lot of people who are pre-op or post-op or who have some other injury that they certainly need a pool to be able to use."

Ms Gould said she was often unable to help those people as her pool was not completely accessible and was often fully booked with swimming classes.

In partnership with Albury and Wodonga Councils, Aligned Leisure runs WAVES in Wodonga, the Wodonga Sport and Leisure Centre, the Albury Swim Centre and the Lavington pubilc swimming pools.

Aligned Leisure manager Karl Farquharson said the first three of the above pools were equipped to support access for all of the community, but they weren't specifically hydrotherapy pools.

"We work to ensure that all facilities are well maintained and operational for our community to utilise and enjoy," he said.

"We are always looking for new opportunities to improve these offerings even further and encourage anyone with suggestions to reach out."

Mr Farquharson acknowledged maintenance of pool accessibility equipment, such as the hoists, was not always delivered in a timely manner.

"As this is specialised equipment, repairs and maintenance activities must be completed by suitably qualified contractors to ensure that the equipment is protected and appropriately maintained," he said.

"The timeliness of repair activities is impacted by the availability of parts, which are specific to the equipment and often can't be sourced locally."

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