***Please like and share**** The sign at The Louisa Centre, Stanley, County Durham (leisure centre) 21st March 2014 We encourage breast feeding in this Centre. However, due to water quality issues we request that mothers do not breast feed their babies either in the water or on poolsde. Please use cublicles in the Changing Village otherwise you are welcome to use other comfortable areas within the Centre. A member of staff will be happy to give further information. Thank you for your assistance. The email response that I received: The email response following complaint: Thank you for your recent feedback regarding your experience at The Louisa Centre whilst breast feeding your child. May I firstly apologise in the delay in not responding to you as quickly as I would have hoped , however I am sure that you would understand that it was necessary to consult with personal from the advice line from the document you referenced following your visit. (maternityaction.org.uk/,). Unfortunately the advice line was not available until 3pm on Wednesday afternoon. I have also taken the opportunity to speak to ********- Equality and Diversity Officer, Durham County Council. I have since read the document Breast feeding in public places and under the section on page 3 where Health and Safety risks are factors, it is not against the law to preventing breast feeding. I have spoken to ***** from the advice line and also ******,Equality and Diversity Officer who seemed happy with my explanation and reasons for not permitting breast feeding in the pool or on poolside. I have detailed these reasons below. The Health and Safety Risks The centre does not allow anyone to consume food or drink (breast feeding counts as food and drink) on poolside or in the water during public swimming , this is due to the high risks associated with drowning, choking and vomiting. The only exception to this is that our lifeguards need to keep water bottles close by so that they can keep themselves hydrated whilst working in a very challenging environment, again this is a health and safety issue for our lifeguards and we must comply to maintain their safety too.Lifeguards are a requirement during public swimming. Vomiting in the pool while swimming is a common event. Often, vomiting results from swallowing too much water, meaning that the vomit is probably not infectious. However, if the contents of the stomach are vomited, germs most likely to be spread by vomit are noroviruses and the action to treat this is required immediately. This includes closure of the pool whilst staff clean the affected area and check that the water quality has been un affected. Should the water quality be affected then the situation needs to be remedied immediately. The pool and poolside can be a very hazardous place including slips and trips and should vomiting occur on poolside it can be very slippy if not cleaned up immediately. Again this would mean a pool closure. Due to the nature of poolside being a wet environment with residual water being present continuously, vomit on poolside has the potential to infect the water in the pool and considering the germs that can be present we need to take every step to ensure the safety of all users. Whilst I understand your frustration and annoyance I believe that we have acted in the best interested of health and safety for all of our customers. We will continue to welcome breast feeding mothers into the centre and you are welcome to breast feed your child in the changing cubicles near to pool side or any other area of the centre where it is safer and more comfortable. Regards,
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:37:08 +0000
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