"Hydrotherapy Sessions"

I have rheumatoid arthritis and I attend hydrotherapy sessions as recommended by my doctor to help me. I have been going to these sessions for several years and find them very helpful. They have a policy at the pool that you cannot stand at the poolside for health and safety reasons. The lockers however are located by the pool side, so you have to get changed in the changing rooms then use the locker then wait in the changing rooms for your class to begin. at one of my recent sessions I had got changed and walked to put my things in the locker when a staff member that I have never seen before approached me and very loudly said you are not allowed at the pool side! this is a clinical area! not a leisure centre! It was very abrupt, and I thought it was quite rude, I explained that I am a patient I know this and was just putting my clothes away but they wouldn't listen to me. I felt awful and belittled. I put my clothes away and went to wait with the other people. we usually know when it is time to go in the pool because we can see so we just head over, but this staff member came over and shouted to us that we can get in the pool now, as though we were school children.

When i got in the pool I was shaking because of the whole situation and my therapist noticed and asked if I was okay.

I don’t know who this staff member is because I had never seen them before and they didn’t introduce themselves. As I got out the pool they touched my arm and said they want to apologise to me but then they shouted again about it not being a leisure centre and so I did not accept the apology and said that I would like to report them to management and I went to do so but they were not available and so I phoned them at a later time instead. I felt that when I spoke to the member of staff from management they were very defensive they said they had interviewed everyone around the pool and had decided that it was me that was being abusive, they dismissed me when I said I was just taking my clothes to the locker.

When I spoke to them again I said I would like a meeting because everyone else has been interviewed apparently except for me that it actually happened to. I recently went to the pool again for a session and as I was leaving the pool the receptionist told me the member of staff from management wanted to see me, I said I can’t I’m busy but was told they want to see me now. The staff member then, in front of everyone, said they had a letter from a witness and held it to my face to read, I said I don’t want to read it. She then told me I can no longer come back to the pool anymore even though I had just paid £20 because the service is self-funded. I’m worries that my rheumatoid arthritis is going to get worse now that I cannot access the pool as I have been doing for several years. When I got back in the changing room some of the people in my session said that the person had shouted at them too, and it upsets me as they aren’t well and can’t defend themselves. I have emailed the PALS service who said they’ll eb back in touch with me. But I feel left in limbo with no access to the NHS care that I rely on.