Members of Harrogate District Swimming Club have raised £4,391 thanks to sponsored swim in support of an appeal to upgrade the Hydrotherapy Pool in the Leeds Children’s Hospital at Leeds General Infirmary.
The club has 97 members from foundation level up to national and international levels. The sponsored swim covered the equivalent of the distance from The Hydro in Harrogate to the hospital pool.
It was Jessica Mudd, Occupational Therapy Clinical Service Manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital, who came up with the idea for the swim and she was delighted the club took on the challenge so enthusiastically.
Jessica commented:
The hospital pool is a well-used facility which benefits children from across the region in need of specialist rehabilitation. It has recently been refurbished but needs some multisensory equipment so the children receiving treatment have a more engaging and effective session using special lighting and sound.
Often the warm water of the hydrotherapy pool is the only way some children can receive physiotherapy because it helps to relax muscles that are tense due to a condition or pain. This sort of treatment can often be painful and tiring but with this equipment, the experience of our young patients will be vastly improved.
I’m absolutely thrilled the club wanted to get involved and their cash will really make a big difference.
Richard Heselton, Junior Swim coach, added:
All the members of the club are well aware of the strong links between swimming, water and good health, and this appeal to help improve the hospital hydrotherapy pool is a subject close to all our hearts.
Some of our club members are swimmers with disabilities so we are particularly aware of the benefits of the hydrotherapy pool and its therapeutic effect. We hope our contribution will help other youngsters have an even better experience in the future.
