July 23, 200719 yr Children banned from using swimming pool armbands amid health and safety fears Last updated at 12:55pm on 23rd July 2007 Comments Swimming pools like this face a raft of health and safety rules A council has banned its leisure centres from lending rubber rings and armbands to swimmers amid health and safety fears. Blowing up the inflatables by mouth is considered too risky for spreading germs and unseen punctures might lead to an accident. Bournemouth Borough Council in Dorset has imposed the ban following professional guidelines from The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management. The council-run swimming pools in Littlewood, Stokewood and Kinson would need to retrain around 275 staff members to follow the strict rules. A council spokeswoman said: "To set up a facility where we could give out armbands when people turn up and forget them would be a very complex operation where all staff would have to be fully trained up and held responsible. "It would not be council money well spent." The ban comes after an auditor spotted one of the swimming pools lending out armbands. Parents and staff have branded it a blow against common sense. One father told the Daily Echo newspaper in Bournemouth: "Yes, there are germs when different people inflate the same arm bands and rubber-rings but the time-honoured practice of mums and dads blowing these up - much to the excitement of toddlers - has been going on for decades, without people keeling over from contagious illnesses." To comply with the rules each centre has to inspect the inflatables daily for punctures and faulty valves, implement a hygiene and cleansing scheme and introduce a formal policy for replacing faulty equipment. Written instructions and guidelines are also needed to teach staff about potential inflatable problems. Swimming pools should also have a policy to make sure parents are given the correct size arm bands for their children and are educated in how to use them. A council spokeswoman said: "Under the guidelines all of our swimming pools are not handing out armbands or any other kind of inflation equipment such as rubber rings. "The centres treat health and safety very seriously and always follow the guidelines outlined by the The Institute of Sport and Recreation Management."
July 23, 200719 yr Author elf'n'bloodysafety :rolleyes: :P Is that connected to the gnome office??:rolleyes:
July 23, 200719 yr Author I agree. They should buy their own armbands. What about the "inflated" prices?:rolleyes:
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