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.

 

Barry Gardiner calls for Hydrotherapy Pool closure to be paused, release of documentation regarding the decision and review of decision in consultation with service users

 

A patient and physiotherapist in an Australian hydrotherapy pool

 

Barry Gardiner MP for Brent West is due to meet Pippa Nightingale, CEO of London North West University Healthcare Trust after her decision to close the Northwick Park Hydrotherapy Pool has resulted in a collective complaint by staff and uproar among patients.

 

In her response to a letter from Barry Gardiner the CEO merely repeated what was in the Trust's reluctantly issued press release.

 

This is the exchange:

 

Dear Ms Nightingale,

I hope this letter finds you well. 

 

I write on behalf of multiple constituents who have contacted me in relation to the impending closure of the hydrotherapy pool at Northwick Park Hospital. I understand this is due to happen at the end of this month, so I would be grateful if you could please treat this issue as a matter of urgency. 

 

I understand that service users were not consulted on the decision to close the pool, nor were they formally notified of the closure in good time. I understand that instead, patients were abruptly informed by reception staff that they could not book any sessions beyond the end of this month. 

 

I understand that the hydrotherapy service provides life-changing treatment to many service users who suffer various limiting and painful conditions. I am told by my constituents of its immeasurable benefits, including one constituent who depends on local access to hydrotherapy to maintain her employment, and in turn her independence and mental wellbeing. 

 

I understand that patients already self-fund their sessions at the pool and they therefore feel that costs currently incurred by the Trust are minimal. I share their concerns that on the other hand, closing the pool will cause deterioration in the patients’ conditions and decrease their independence, resulting in far greater costs for the NHS and social care in the long term. 

 

I am sure you have not come to this decision lightly. However, I would be grateful if you could please: 

 

1.Urgently pause the decision to close the hydrotherapy pool;
2. Release documentation in relation to how the Trust came to this decision;

3. Review the decision in consultation with service users.

 

If there is no way the closure can be avoided, I would be grateful if this could at least be delayed and for the Trust to assist with referring patients to suitable alternatives. 

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response. 

 

Yours sincerely,

Barry Gardiner

 

Dear Barry, 

 

Thank you for your letter of 22 July regarding concerns about the closure of the hydrotherapy pool at Northwick Park Hospital. 

 

I can confirm that the hydrotherapy pool will close on 30 August this year. This is one month later than originally planned to allow more time for engagement with service users, and I hope that this provides you with some additional reassurance around the work we are doing in this area, as you ask in your letter. 

 

We are engaging with our Patient and Carer Participation Group about the pool closure and will take into consideration any concerns that are raised through that forum. While this discussion will not impact upon the decision, it may affect the way in which we manage or communicate the change. 

 

As part of communicating with the pool’s users, we are providing information about all alternative local providers of hydrotherapy. This includes the nearby Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital which has a much larger facility with accessible steps and a hoist. We are therefore assured that all those who use the service will have suitable alternative options.

 

As you note, closing the pool is not a decision we have taken lightly. I would like to reassure you that the decision follows completion of a full quality and equality impact assessment. 

 

We fully recognise that the pool is a popular resource, especially among fee-paying users, who make up most of its users. However, hydrotherapy is not usually provided in acute hospitals, and the new NHS 10-year plan makes a clear distinction between services that should be provided in acute hospitals and those best provided by community services. 

 

You will also be aware of the changes to the NHS financial regime this year, including the funding cap on elective activity. It is now therefore essential to focus all our resources on providing care to acutely unwell patients, and not the funding of community services. This means concentrating efforts on faster diagnosis, expanding surgical and outpatient services, and providing effective ward care so patients can be discharged promptly and treated equitably. 

 

Despite fee-paying users, upkeep and maintenance means the pool has operated at a financial loss to the Trust. If we continued providing this community service, it would reduce the number of appointments we can provide for our acutely unwell patients, resulting in longer waits for essential care. 

 

I appreciate there are aspects around the balance between acute care and community services that you may wish to discuss further. If so, I would be very pleased to arrange a meeting. 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Pippa Nightingale

Chiel Executive

 

Philip Grant: Northwick Park Hydrotherapy Pool – what the NHS Trust Chief Executive wrote (and my reply, seeking to help resolve her problem)

Guest Post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

From the NHS Trust’s complaints leaflet.

 

There have been several articles on “Wembley Matters” recently, and a lot of interest, about the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust’s decision to close the hydrotherapy pool at Northwick Park Hospital. One recent article shared the reply I had received from Brent Council Leader, Cllr. Muhammed Butt, to an email I had sent to him and the Council’s Chief Executive.

 

That was not the only email I had sent about this matter, and in a “FOR INFORMATION” comment under the blog which reported a statement by the NHS Trust about the closure decision (given to Local Democracy Reporter, Grant Williams), I shared the text of an email I had sent on 28 July to the Trust’s Chairman and its Chief Executive Officer. I made the case that ‘that this facility IS needed locally, and should not simply be withdrawn through a one-sided cost-cutting decision of the NHS Trust.'

 

This guest post will let you know “what happened next”, and update interested readers on the latest position over the closure, as far as I know it.

 

On 30 July, I received an email from the Patient Relations Office at Northwick Park Hospital, with three attachments. The first was a letter from a Complaints Officer, telling me that my email of 28 July was being treated as a complaint, which was being investigated, and that: 

 

‘We aim to complete our investigation by 23 September 2025, and to respond to you shortly after this date.’

 

The second attachment was their complaints leaflet (see above). The covering email also said: ‘Further correspondence will have to be encrypted in line with the Trust’s Information Governance protocols and we have attached a guide created by NHSMail to instruct you on how this is done.’ The attached guide was a fourteen-page pdf document!

 

The front page heading from the Encrypted Emails Guide.

 

The first email may have been the result of the NHS Trust Chairman, Matthew Swindells, kicking his copy of my email into the long grass. I was about to reply to it, saying that my “complaint” (if they wanted to treat it as that for statistical purposes) required a reply from someone at the top of the NHS Trust, long before 23 September (as the plan is to close the hydrotherapy pool on 30 August), but I received a second email. This was again from the Trust’s “Complaints” address, but it included a “link” which I had to follow, in order to download an encrypted letter!

 

The letter, thanking me for my email of 28 July, was signed by Ms Pippa Nightingale MBE, the Trust’s Chief Executive. I can see no reason why its contents need to be treated as confidential, so I will ask Martin to attach a copy of it at the end of this article.

 

While her letter includes some words that recognise the hydrotherapy pool’s importance – ‘I do appreciate how beneficial this pool has been …’, ‘I fully recognise that the pool is a popular resource …’ – the key paragraph is this:

 

‘… we are actively engaging with service users, patient and carer groups and local MPs about the closure and will take into consideration any concerns raised. While this will not impact upon the decision, it may affect the way in which we manage or communicate the change.’

 

In other words, the NHS Trust still plans to close the pool on 30 August. Frankly, that is not an acceptable solution. The hydrotherapy pool is a long-established facility on the Northwick Park Hospital site, and while the new NHS ten-year plan may indicate that the buildings there should in future concentrate on being an “acute” hospital, that is no reason why this important piece of local health care infrastructure (fully refurbished only five years ago) should not be allowed to continue where it is, even if that is under different management.

 

The NHS Trust’s values, as proclaimed in its logo!

 

This is the text of the email I sent on 4 August, in reply to Miss Nightingale’s letter:

 

Your ref: pn/ph/25/7/C12257 - how you can resolve the issue of the Hydrotherapy Pool

 

Dear Ms Nightingale (and Mr Swindells),

 

Thank you for your letter of 1 August, in reply to my email to you both of 28 July 2025.

 

I note that much of your letter is a repeat of the press statement which the Trust made recently about its decision to close the Hydrotherapy Pool at Northwick Park Hospital. You then go on to say that you are actively engaging with a variety of stakeholders, but that 'this will not impact on the decision.'

 

That last statement strongly suggests that you have not grasped the seriousness of the position which the closure decision, and the way it has been handled, has put your NHS Trust in. As things stand, you and Mr Swindells are in danger of bringing the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust into disrepute.

 

This is the latest position on the mess this decision has got the Trust into, as I understand it:

 

·      It has upset and angered both staff and patients who use the hydrotherapy pool;

·      A petition calling on the Trust to stop the closure of the pool now has 2,600 signatures;

·      Brent Council (and possibly other local Councils whose residents use the pool) have raised serious concerns about the decision, including that they should have been consulted and given the opportunity to scrutinise the decision before any closure can go ahead;

·      I understand that at least one of the local Members of Parliament has taken up the matter at senior levels within the NHS;

·      I also understand that hospital staff have raised a collective formal grievance against the Trust management over the closure of the pool.

 

If you will listen to the advice of a retired Civil Servant, who for years had responsibility for resolving complaints, this is what I would suggest you and the Trust should now do:

 

1.    Acknowledge to yourselves that the decision has been badly handled;

2.    Acknowledge this publicly, and apologise for it;

3.    Put the closure of the pool "on hold", and announce an extension, of at least three or four months, to the proposed closure date;

4.    Actively work with other local healthcare bodies, including those running community healthcare, to find a solution for the future running and finance of the hydrotherapy pool, so that the existing pool facility at Northwick Park Hospital can continue to be used by people from the area it already serves. without a break in that service.

 

Thank you for reading this email. I hope you will give my advice serious consideration, so that the future of the hydrotherapy pool can be resolved on a reasonable and sensible basis, for the benefit of the health and wellbeing of the local community. 

Best wishes,

Philip Grant.

 

I don’t know whether my words will have any effect on the pool’s future, but if you feel strongly about something, I believe it is worth trying to influence a positive outcome!

 

I had copied my email of 28 July to two local MPs. Bob Blackman’s office has asked for my address, so that he can write to me, but I have not received his response yet. Barry Gardiner’s office sent me an email on 4 August, saying that he could not reply to me as I am no longer his constituent (he was my MP from 1997 to 2024, and although I still live at the same address in Brent, boundary changes mean that I now come under Harrow East!). The email did, however, provide this piece of news:

 

‘Rest assured, several of Mr Gardiner’s constituents have already contacted him about this issue, and Mr Gardiner has arranged a meeting with Pippa Nightingale later this week to discuss this in more detail.’

 

So, although Barry Gardiner can’t write to me, I have sent his office copies of Ms Nightingale’s letter and my reply to it, in the hope that this could provide a framework for his discussion with the Trust’s Chief Executive. Let’s hope for the best!

Philip Grant.

 

Leader of Brent Council, Muhammed Butt, 'shares alarm' over Northwick Park Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool

Wembley Matters reader and contributor Philip Grant wrote to Cllr Muhammed Butt, leaer of Brent Council, about the closure of the Northwick Park Hospital Hydrotherapy Pool. This is Cllr Butt's response:

 

Dear Mr Grant,

Thank you very much for your email regarding the closure of the hydrotherapy pool at Northwick Park Hospital and for sharing the recent article and context with us.

As you rightly pointed out, the decision to close the hydrotherapy pool ultimately rests with the North West London University Hospitals NHS Trust. However, we completely understand and share your alarm about the potential impact this closure may have on Brent residents who have come to rely on this valuable service.

Our Lead Member for Public Health and Adult Social Care, Councillor Neil Nerva, will be reaching out to the Trust to gain a clearer understanding of the rationale behind this decision and to learn what, if any, mitigating measures are being considered. We firmly believe that the voices of patients, staff, and the wider community should be taken into account in any major changes to local health services.

Additionally, Barry Gardiner MP is raising this issue at the highest levels within the NHS, following representations from concerned residents and stakeholders. We welcome this intervention and will remain in close contact with him to support efforts to ensure there is proper engagement and consideration of alternative solutions.

Thank you once again for bringing this matter to our attention and for your continued advocacy on behalf of the community.

Regards

Muhammed

Cllr Muhammed Butt
Leader of Brent Council. 

Letter: Chartered Society of Physiotherapy oppose closure of Northwick Park Hydrotherapy Pool and support petition. 'NHS should not be driven by profit.'

 

 LINK TO PETITION

 

Dear Editor,

I went for my weekly hydro session yesterday.  The Physiotherapists have had the attached leaflet printed and are handing out to patients. They feel very strongly that the pool should be saved. I am told there has been no consultation with physios.   The pool is used by patients from Rheumatology, Neurology, Musculo-Skeletal and Paediatric specialties.

All of the users yesterday were dismayed that the pool is to close. They have not been consulted.  

 

Of course many of us could find swimming pools to exercise in (alone) but the water in those pools is much colder than that in therapy pools and for most of us, suffering from Rheumatological and other diseases this would prove counterproductive.  

Everyone wants to fight the closure and we will do our utmost but the fact that the same Trust did away with the pool at Ealing Hospital sometime ago doesn't give me much hope!

Thanks,

 

 A patient.