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South Norfolk The Council Assesses Risk for Wymondham Leisure Centre 4.12.06 http://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/CARMS/meetings/cab2006-12-04ag13.pdfAmong the less serious risk listed by the Council was: "Potential for a reduction in service quality as a result of low staff motivation/morale now that Leisure Connection have received notification that the contract will not be renewed in April 2007. As recently as 16th November, the strategic significance of this risk was confirmed by the project board overseeing the arrangements to bring the management of the centre 'in house'.”Council's usually pay in-house staff more so why do they think morale could be low enough to be a risk? Perhaps it is to do with the sort of thing reported in Ealing in the summer of 2006? FOI Documents A number of document were obtained form South Norfolk Council under the Freedom of Information Act. As the Council have not sent me documents electronically, as requested, I am not making available the full contents of all those used here. Despite many worrying issues and persistent contractor failures the council's FOI reply stated "We do not have any papers dealing with contract deficit, default, warning or penalty relating to this site." PB Report on Visit to Wymondham Leisure Centre on 14.10.05 - an independent, professional cleaner helps to assess Councillor's letter to LC - 12 October & Officer Email re Visit to Leisure Centre Mystery Customer Visits to Wymondham Leisure Centre in Summer 2005 - more dirt and the unhelpful lifeguards List of Customer Comments - 2004 - cleaning and other issues have been recorded for at least eighteen months before the mystery visit in the summer. Extracts from a Report Following a Visit to Wymondham Leisure Centre on 14.10.05. Full report It is interesting to contrast the details noted here with the email (below) about a visit two days earlier. This does suggest that bringing in a cleaning expert to assess may be a useful feature for other council's monitoring contracts. For this reason I have scanned this report for the website. PB The external windows were very marked and needed to be cleaned. The reception floor was very marked and again needed to be cleaned and possibly sealed to assist future cleaning and maintenance. The corridor to the pool was very marked both on the walls and the floor and needs to be cleaned and redecorated. Pool changing areas/toilets/relaxation area: There were 2 plastic playpens for children, which were very dirty, both inside and out. On closer inspection there were deposits under the pens including hair. Although it was 8.45 a.m. the bins were at least half full throughout this area, which will be a potential health and fire hazard. There were also areas of mould growing on the plastic grout in the shower cubicles (particularly the 3 individual showers). The feet of the shower cubicles are particularly dirty and the dirt is becoming ground in and will prove increasingly difficult to clean. In the steam room there was once again a lime scale issue and there were deposits of body fat visible under 3 of the plastic seats. When entering the sauna and lifting the mat, it was evident that there had only been superficial cleaning as there were large deposits of hair and general dirt. There was an hourly checklist in this area that had not been signed off. The male and female toilets in the pool area were both very dirty with large lime scale and dirt deposits in various areas. On the male side the areas around the urinals were particularly in need of attention with the floor being very discoloured. The female toilets again had heavily marked floor tiles particularly around the basins and there were cracked floor tiles. Behind one of the toilets there was a build up of mould.
Pool Side The white plastic covering the gullies surrounding the pool were very dirty and almost black in some areas, particularly around the steps to the pool. The gullies themselves on closer inspection when lifting the white plastic top were very dirty, once again particularly around the steps. When wiping this with my hand there were large deposits of dirt/body fat. The seating area was being cleaned, however the leading edge was very dirty. The carpet area was dirty and in need of a deep clean. There appears to be a build on the inside of the pool at the ends in particular as there is a tidemark around the pool, which is slippery to the touch. Dry Side The carpets throughout the dry side of the building were very marked, particularly on the stairs and viewing balcony area. Once again the bins despite it being early in the morning were at least half full The ledges overlooking the main hall were very dusty. The changing areas were very similar to those on wet side, as there is a major build up of general in ground dirt and lime scale with areas of mould in the grout. The squash courts were very dusty, particularly around the edges. During our visit we were approached by 4 members of the public who asked us what we were doing and then proceeded to tell us their views regarding the cleanliness of the facility without any prompting. The comments were that: It was generally dirty/grubby ; School children not encouraged to shower before swimming; Cleaning was superficial; Very dusty; Fed up with complaining, as things don’t get done. Current Procedures Bunzl- this company are the suppliers of cleaning materials to Leisure Connection. This is a corporate head office arrangement leaving little on site flexibility. Drainage- there are issues surrounding drainage from the changing areas which means the flow of water away from this area is not good, which could result in build ups on the floor tiles Councillor Letter & Officer Email following Inspection On 12 October Councillor Jane Walker, Portfolio Holder for Cultural & Learning, wrote to LC to bring to their attention delays in signing a contract for Wymondham and "The falling standards of service and cleanliness at the Centre which have been brought to my attention by members of the public and colleagues who use the facility on a regular basis". Also on 12 October Simon Bellamy, a Council Leisure Officer, emailed Chris Cook, South Norfolk's Head of Leisure Services. This is reproduced in full below.
June - July 2005 Mystery Customer Visits to Wymondham Leisure Centre - Report to South Norfolk Council Visits were made on 15 June and 7 July and calls were made to the centre between these dates. The emphasis was on noting what customers would experience. Scores out of ten are for the centre as a whole and this means that one bad finding does not mean a low score. extracts below are quotes. PB “The mystery visit cannot in the time available confirm every activity affecting service delivery. Every effort has been made to project a realistic picture of the service provided at the Centre. However, the finding of this report cannot be taken as an equivocal endorsement of safe and effective operation.” Cleanliness Cleanliness throughout the visit was good in the main circulation areas with no litter evident. Within the pool changing (sic) litter was evident for the duration of the visit. A till receipt showing a time of 5:09pm was still in the changing room at 8.30pm. The wetside shower tiles were In need of a deep dean. Along one entire bank of tiles from the shower activate button to the floor the tiles appeared to be covered in body fat and completely orange. The Bar /Café area was litter free and the tables were clear. These were extremely sticky from residue spillages. I was handed a laminated bar menu after enquiring about food services and this was also sticky I tacky to touch. I was unable to order any filled rolls or a glass of wine as they had ‘run out’. The toilet facilities off the main Hall viewing balcony were in need of a clean as the sinks were dirty. The Baby change unit was clean and in working order. No cleaning was noted during the visits. Quality Score = 7 (“Satisfaction with most of the elements noted”) Housekeeping The facility, circulation areas and fire exits were generally clean, tidy and safe to use during my visits. No problems were encountered when driving to the facility and the signs appeared good. Litter in the changing areas was evident for the duration of my visit. A staff member was witnessed hastily checking the Health Suite and signing off the check sheet in this area… Quality Score = 7 (“Satisfaction with most of the elements noted”) Changing Rooms and Toilets The Swimming Pool changing room area directly off from Reception is spacious and well laid out. Rules of use notices are displayed in prominent places and directional signs are good for the facilities and amenities. The lockers had clear guidelines on how to operate, and appeared to be in good condition. Some of the lockers require cleaning inside and on top of the units. Notices stated that areas are checked regularly and asked customers to contact staff if they did not meet customer satisfaction. Litter was evident within the changing room at the beginning of the visit and still remained over 2 hours later. The disabled toilets and changing facilities were clean and functional. Baby change units are provided, as are nappy disposal bins. There did not appear to be any storage available for baby buggies or push chairs. One staff member was witnessed checking the health suite just off the Changing Area and signed a check sheet, which was mounted in a frame on the wall. The date was incorrect on this check sheet. I did not witness any staff cleaning the Changing Area during either of the visits. Quality Score = 7 Health
and Safety Management A number of Health and Safety issues were noted during the visit and all related to pool supervision. During the aqua fit class 2 lifeguards were on duty for the first 20 minutes of the class and were positioned at the shallow end of the main pool chatting to each other. After rotation 1 lifeguard positioned himself in the high chair in a rather relaxed fashion with his legs hanging over the side of the chair arms. Throughout the session lifeguards continually came onto poolside to chat to the duty lifeguard and at one point there were three on poolside deep in conversation. At one point during the class the duty lifeguard made a rude hand gesture to the other lifeguard, he was talking to. As the class was taking place a member of the public was witnessed walking about pool side in outdoor footwear drinking a beverage. A staff member was witnessed carrying a tray full of drinks along the pool side. At the end of the class a number of people were on pool side packing away equipment. These were not In uniform and It was unclear If they were staff members. During this session a lady appeared to suffer with severe cramp. Another pool user approached her, however, no staff member offered assistance... I felt there were sufficient lifeguards on duty however, very little actual pool supervision taking place, which portrayed a lack of customer care and health and safety awareness. Quality Score 4 (Acceptable service in many elements examined. Dissatisfaction with other elements of the service examined. Even split between acceptable and dissatisfied.) Had the lady in difficulty drowned would the rating still have been split between acceptable and dissatisfied? PB ... The overall score for the Centre was 99 out of a possible 140 (71%). List of Customer Comments - 2004 The council also sent as part of the response to FOI list of customer comments made between February and and August 2004. There was no explanation as to why more recent comments have not been provided. However, the comments make clear that cleaning and other issues, such as lack of staff in the gym, have been logged over time. PB Among the comments were: "Showers - need a good clean, quite smelly." (May 7) "Why do you not enough life guards on one of your busiest days... wasn't allowed in to swim." (May 9) "On one of the hottest days ... not letting customers in ... because of shortage of lifeguards." (May 18) "Please can you clean the gents' showers." (undated) "Swimming changing rooms always dirty in evenings and pool quite smelly. There was the same ball of hair on shower cubicle wall for over 1 week." (undated) "Toilets often not clean. Door on ladies toilet been broken for at least a week. No staff in gym. New music system needed... Machines often out of order." (undated) "Showers and changing rooms dirty. Shower growing black mould." (undated) "Smell in changing rooms!" (June 10) Three other customers complained of this on this date. one described the smell as "sewerage". "Unfortunately the standard of cleanliness in changing rooms for swimming pool has deteriorated considerably. The floors are particularly fithy - although staff were trying their best. I feel hat a sweigie (sic) mop is inadequate. A thorough clean is needed. " (August 17) "Yes - I think the general presentation of he centre is dirty - floors in swim changing rooms require steam cleaning and areas difficult to get to should be cleaned. Carpets leading up to cafe are dirty and need cleaning and generally smell - Do your drains require attention?" (August 17) "What happens if someone has an accident in the gym when there is no one there? I was in the gym for 1.30hrs today, no one came to check if everything was OK and do you really check through the cameras? I really hope no one hurts themselves, its a lawsuit waiting to happen." (August 21) |
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