Oxford
Hundreds left to wait at outdoor pool
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| Stephanie Mobbs and Aaran at Hinksey pool |
Swimmers were left high and dry on the hottest day of the year so far as a lack of lifeguards led to massive queues at Oxford's outdoor swimming pool.
Would-be bathers had to wait over an hour in queues of more than a hundred to get into Hinksey Pool as managers restricted numbers because they did not have enough lifeguards.
Many gave up, rather than wait in temperatures of 27c.
Oxford City Council closed two of its indoor pools to transfer lifeguards to Hinksey to cope with the anticipated "exceptional demand", but there still were not enough to allow the pool to operate at full capacity. A 'one-out, one-in' policy was in place for a second day running.
Long queues formed as early as 9.45am yesterday. Parents queued in the sunshine but sent their children to find what shade they could.
Yesterday, no-one at the pool would speak to the Oxford Mail.
Swimmers, however, said they were told the lack of lifeguards was due to a combination of sickness and a "chronic" lack of staff. Safety rules mean the number of swimmers is limited by the number of lifeguards on duty.
The pool at Peers Sports Centre and Blackbird Leys swimming pool closed over the weekend, except for pre-booked lessons and birthday parties.
Oxford's pools have struggled with staff shortages, and a council spokesman said recruitment was held up due to the time taken for criminal record checks.
Andrea Swiffen's family of five had come for a swim to celebrate her daughter Emma's fifth birthday, but left after queuing for 20 minutes.
Mrs Swiffen, 37, from Botley, said: "It's terrible. Everybody knew the weather forecast. It was obviously going to be like this and now there's nowhere for us to go.
"It's a great disappointment. We cycled all the way to Cowley to get swimming trunks for our young boy but neither him nor my daughter will get a swim on her birthday.
"The council spend all year maintaining it and the day when they can make money from it, they can't find enough staff.
"I think we'll probably have to set up the paddling pool when we get home. I think it's outrageous."
Aaran Patterson, 17, of Hollow Way, said: "It's shocking. The council need to get some more staff here."
Stephanie Mobbs, 19, also from Hollow Way, added: "We're feeling dehydrated. I think the council should be handing out water to people."
Mother-of-two Jodie Flynn-Abbasi, 25, from Greater Leys, said: "If I hadn't promised my kids we'd go swimming I would go home. Why are we queueing up if they've closed two pools already?"
7:51pm Sunday 11th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Peter, Oxford on 9:52pm Sun 11 May 08
And did anybody really expect anything else from Oxford City Council other than complete incompetence ?
And did anybody really expect anything else from Oxford City Council other than complete incompetence ?
Posted by: amazed,, abingdon on 7:48am Mon 12 May 08
may be paying a decent rate of pay would make people want to be lifeguards. i feel sorry for all those that queued, because this lack of staff could easily been avoided. shutting other pools is not the answer, just a little bit of forethought, and paying attention to the weather forecast would have made sure enough staff were on duty. i'm not sure what the staff to customer ratio should be, but you should always plan for a sell-out, and then be over-staffed if necessary. typical occ.
may be paying a decent rate of pay would make people want to be lifeguards. i feel sorry for all those that queued, because this lack of staff could easily been avoided. shutting other pools is not the answer, just a little bit of forethought, and paying attention to the weather forecast would have made sure enough staff were on duty. i'm not sure what the staff to customer ratio should be, but you should always plan for a sell-out, and then be over-staffed if necessary. typical occ.
Posted by: INFO, Oxford on 12:29pm Mon 12 May 08
The fact that there were not enough staff for Hinksey, or many of the other areas of Leisure is down to the recruitment freeze imposed on ALL council departments by the Chief Executive. Staff have left and there have been no provision for replacing staff, despite pleas and warnings from current staff and Centre Managers. Now the current staff have to cover the shortfalls by working extra hours and moving to sites that they knew would be busy.
The wages of the staff is not an issue. The pay is above minimum wage, and there are many people who have inquired about working, all of whom have been told that OCC are not hiring staff! The Executive of the Council have trimmed staff to the bare bones to reduce spending. I can only assume that this was done with the knowledge of the City Councillors, who SHOULD still be in charge of the running of all council departments!
Their answer is to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on more consultants to investigate how to run leisure....
The fact that there were not enough staff for Hinksey, or many of the other areas of Leisure is down to the recruitment freeze imposed on ALL council departments by the Chief Executive. Staff have left and there have been no provision for replacing staff, despite pleas and warnings from current staff and Centre Managers. Now the current staff have to cover the shortfalls by working extra hours and moving to sites that they knew would be busy.
The wages of the staff is not an issue. The pay is above minimum wage, and there are many people who have inquired about working, all of whom have been told that OCC are not hiring staff! The Executive of the Council have trimmed staff to the bare bones to reduce spending. I can only assume that this was done with the knowledge of the City Councillors, who SHOULD still be in charge of the running of all council departments!
Their answer is to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on more consultants to investigate how to run leisure....
Posted by: brian, BBLeys on 2:07pm Mon 12 May 08
Privatise the lot lets get organisations in who know how to run things properly
Privatise the lot lets get organisations in who know how to run things properly
Posted by: Marra, Oxford on 6:55pm Mon 12 May 08
The city council seems to place a low priority on good customer services. I can't believe that any of the managers have actually been to Hinksey Pool and seen the poor processes which have led - unnecessarily in many cases - to long queues. They seem unprepared for hot weather year after year. Customers are treated like cattle. There needs to be a big change in attitudes.
The city council seems to place a low priority on good customer services. I can't believe that any of the managers have actually been to Hinksey Pool and seen the poor processes which have led - unnecessarily in many cases - to long queues. They seem unprepared for hot weather year after year. Customers are treated like cattle. There needs to be a big change in attitudes.
Posted by: occsucks on 10:23pm Mon 12 May 08
the council just want to sell it to developers.
the council just want to sell it to developers.
Posted by: ricky, oxford on 1:01am Tue 13 May 08
maybe introduce some fines on the swimmers then occ would be interested..£40 for diving,maybe?
maybe introduce some fines on the swimmers then occ would be interested..£40 for diving,maybe?
Posted by: mamo, oxford on 10:45am Tue 13 May 08
had to wait again to get in yesterday as there was only one life guard on duty. people were getting really mad as they had been there since 9.45.
the manager said the staff had been at the pool until 8.30 the night before to clean.
how clean are their homes as there was a large amount of rubbish still around on the grass and around the pool area.
will not be giong again in the near future as prices are to much for the amount of facilities the pool has to offer.
had to wait again to get in yesterday as there was only one life guard on duty. people were getting really mad as they had been there since 9.45.
the manager said the staff had been at the pool until 8.30 the night before to clean.
how clean are their homes as there was a large amount of rubbish still around on the grass and around the pool area.
will not be giong again in the near future as prices are to much for the amount of facilities the pool has to offer.
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