Open Letter to Cllr Ketan Sheth: Hydrotherapy Pool closure needs effective scrutiny

 Cllr Sheth's article (Brent & Kilburn Times 21.8.25)

The Northwick Park Hydrotherapy Pool will close at the end of this week. Wembley Matters has received an  Open Letter  from a patient.

 

29^th August 2025

 

Dear Councillor Sheth,

 

Re: Hydrotherapy Pool Closure

 

I have read your statement about the closure of the hydrotherapy pool, which contains a number of misconceptions and inaccuracies. As the Chair of the Scrutiny and Wellbeing Committee* you need to scrutinise this decision on behalf of Brent patients.  However, you have simply repeated the position put forward by the Trust.  Misinformation was provided by the CEO of the trust who admitted at a meeting with physiotherapy staff that she had consulted no-one, staff, patients nor the public, about the implications of the closure upon patients; she said that she had made the decision herself and would stick with it regardless.

 

 

A Freedom of Information Request to the trust has revealed that in 2024-5 the pool was used by 617 new medical referral patients [who get three sessions each before being charged], plus  a total of 7493 who paid for individual sessions at the pool, so it is obvious that a large number of patients have been benefiting from this facility.  This means that 9344 treatment sessions were provided to patients in that year, which comes to around 200 patients being helped each week of opening. The pool is open for 22 half-hour sessions weekly, totaling eleven hours, so there is scope for more users to be accommodated and possibly for a wider range of needs to be accommodated also.

 

Contrary to information released by the Trust, we are not private users. We have all been referred to the pool by hospital consultants, physiotherapists, and doctors.  Many of us are awaiting or recovering from surgical procedures and it is vital that we obtain and keep body strength to avoid damage from falls. Others have long-term conditions which can involve muscle wastage or persistent pain. Hydrotherapy assists all of these conditions. It needs to be provided in a warm pool under medical supervision.  Because after three sessions we are asked to contribute to the cost does not make us private users.  My consultant told me that I was ‘still acute’ after a year of therapy.  When we go to an NHS dentist we fill out a form and are asked for a financial contribution. This does not make us ‘private users’ who it seems that according to the CEO of the trust, do not matter and have no relevant needs.

 

The possibility of the pool being run by a private or charitable provider has not been explored at all by the hospital trust, who say that this would be an ‘inappropriate use’ of a facility for NHS patients.  However, the Aspire Leisure Centre with its specialist pool is located within the grounds of the National Orthopedic Hospital and is run as a charity. [It has been suggested that Northwick Park patients use this pool, but it is not heated to the same temperature and has no physiotherapist led sessions.]  It is also one and a half hours journey from this area by bus and there is no indication that they have the capacity to take-on patients from Northwick Park Hospital. The Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Birmingham has a hydrotherapy facility run for them by a private provider, so there are other examples to explore for a solution in Brent and Harrow. Our pool is open for 22 half hour sessions weekly, totaling eleven hours, so there is scope for more users to be accommodated.

 

 

No consultation has been carried out, and not a single word has been communicated to patients. We first knew about withdrawal of the service by a petition posted on the hospital wall. We have had no letters to say our service is cancelled. Staff who run the facility were told not to talk to us. We gained access to a staff meeting and physiotherapists said no-one had asked them about the affect on their patients. Patients who need this pool feel like we have been treated with contempt by the Hospital trustees.

 

I am sending this as an open letter, because local residents need to know what has happened at Northwick Park Hospital.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Linda in Preston Ward

Patient at Northwick Park Hospital

[Name and address supplied]

 

 

 

*For information:  From Brent council Website.

 

Scrutiny in Brent

Brent's scrutiny function has two scrutiny committees:

·       the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

·       the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee.

Each is composed of 11 elected members (nine from the Labour Group and one member from each opposition group which is consistent with current political balance arrangements). There are a total of 12 scrutiny meetings held during the municipal year, six per committee. This enables an integrated approach within each committee to scrutinise thematic and related policy and service issues. It also gives the opportunity for members to develop expertise across services and hold detailed discussions.

The Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee also participates in the North West London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee as chair. It is composed of eight voting members from across North West London and one non-voting co-opted member. There are four North West London Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held during each municipal year.