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Milton Keynes FOI Material 2005       Milton Keynes Main Page

Among the items received following an Freedom of Information request in October 2005 were the following:

Site Inspection by Council Leisure Officer – 25 April 2005

I have enclosed a copy of the hand written and typed default notice that I completed after my initial follow up inspection on Monday. I noted that good efforts had been made to rectify a number of the issues raised in my inspection of Friday 15th April 2005. However, there was still a few of the lighter tasks that were commented on had still not been completed within the specified remedy period. My comments on the individual items are as follows:

s – As mentioned in the monitoring visit and noted in rectification notes number 11 this area is still in need of cleaning. When in this area today it was noted that there was broken glass from a light tube and a number of other sharp object including stones that could be walked into the changing areas and onto poolside from this access.

aa – The inside part of the fire exit had been lightly hovered, but when the doors were opened to reveal the exit, there was a number points that both Steve and my self found that needed to be cleared away. The general state was deemed to be filthy.

 

Environmental Health 9 May 2005

Kim Bennett, Senior Environmental Health Officer wrote to Leisure Connection regarding a Health and Safety visit to  Bletchley Leisure Centre  on 9 May 2005,  folowing a complaint received from a member of the public.

Two schedules were attached and these are reproduced here in full. The "dirt" begins at 1.3. Only the first two sections are in legalese. The letter and schedules were sent to Paul Burns following a request made under the Freedom of information Act.

SCHEDULE I - MANDATORY     

 Under the requirements of the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 you are required to bring the following matters to the attention of all employees or duly elected employee representatives.   

1.0

HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ETC ACT 1974

1.1

It shall be the duty of each person who has, to any extent, control of premises to which this section applies or of the means of access thereto or egress therefrom to take such measures as it is reasonably practicable for a person in his position to take to ensure that the premises and all means of access thereto or egress therefrom available for use by persons using the premises, is or are safe and without risks to health.  [Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 – Section 4(2)]

 

1.2

It shall be the duty of each person who has, to any extent control of any plant or substance in premises to which this section applies to take such measures as it is reasonably practicable for a person in his position to take to ensure that any plant or substance in the premises or, as the case may be, provided for use there is or are safe and without risks to health.  [Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 – Section 4(2)]

 

1.3

The following cleaning and maintenance issues were noted which could affect the health and safety of members of the public:

a)     There were numerous areas of missing or damaged tiles to the pool, pool surround and changing rooms that must be repaired and the areas left in good repair. This includes those tiles on the bottom of the pool that are causing cuts to bathers’ feet, and regrouting where necessary.

b)     The scum channel covers to the pool had a build up of scale, algae, hair and other matter that must be cleaned. The covers and the scum channel must be cleaned regularly to ensure that there is no build up of such matter. The annual cleaning regime currently in force is inadequate.

c)      There is a build up of algae and scale in the swimming pool, particularly on the grouting between the tiles; such a build-up could allow bacteria such as pseudomonas to grow.

d)     The scum channel to the pool is in a poor condition in that the plastic walls are damaged in part with the surface coating worn, and there are areas of unprotected concrete that show signs of contamination with rust and algae. This will allow a further build-up of scale and algae and may allow water to leak from the pool. The scum channel should be repaired to leave it in good repair.

e)     The scum channel to the spa pool is cracked in numerous places and previous damage has been badly repaired and is now failing. This will allow a build-up of scale and algae and will allow water to leak out of the system. The condition of the channel does not allow for proper cleaning. The scum channel should be replaced with one of a smooth construction and the unit left in good order.

f)        The support to the slide is rusty in part and is allowing rust particles to enter the pool water. Also the disused pool cover rollers (which I understand are scheduled to be removed) are rusting and the run off from the condensate is also entering the pool. These must be maintained to prevent further deterioration of the supports and to prevent rust entering the pool water.

g)     The rubber edging to the poolside floor covering is missing in part and must be repaired.

h)      There are areas of disrepair to the walls of the changing cubicles and health club showers that must be maintained and the areas left in good repair.

i)        There is no routine inspection of the cables to the weight training equipment to ensure that they are in a good state of repair. These cables must be routinely inspected and replaced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

j)        There were 3 pieces of equipment that had been found to be electrically faulty; I understand that there is no routine maintenance, which includes inspection, of the equipment to ensure that it is electrically safe. All equipment should be maintained by a competent person to ensure that it is safe.

 SCHEDULE II - RECOMMENDATIONS        HEALTH AND SAFETY 

I understand that the pool is no longer routinely vacuumed and that the annual draining and cleaning of the pool was not carried out in December 2004; these procedures should be carried out to allow thorough cleaning and proper maintenance of the pool.

2

Iron is a prerequisite for Legionella bacteria to grow together with a matrix such as that provided by the scale and algae and water at a temperature between 20°C and 50°C. Hence it is important to ensure that iron, including Ferric Oxide (rust) enters the water, (sic) I think this should say rust does not enter the water. PB

3

Cleaning of the scum channels and covers should be an on-going task, not an annual one, to prevent the build up of extraneous matter.