'Upset' at plans to close hospital hydrotherapy pool

Patients said the closure of a hospital's hydrotherapy pool has left them feeling "disgusted" and "upset".

Health bosses have decided to shut the pool at King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, and offer "land-based therapies".

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said this had been done as it tries to save £35m and reviews the services it offers.

But thousands of residents have called on the hospital to find a way to keep it open and two MPs have spoken to the hospital leadership about the decision.

Steve Walmsley, from Huthwaite, uses the facility to help with his arthritis and said it was keeping him mobile.

The 64-year-old said the pool, which is heated to about 34C (93F), allows him to do exercises he could not do on land or in a normal pool, which is normally cooler.

"It's improved my movements since I started going," he said.

"I don't get the pain from when doing normal exercise, like in a gym or even walking.

"I use a walking stick to get around, but I could only walk 50, 60ft.

"Now I can do about 100ft, which is a hell of a lot."

He said he looked for an alternative NHS hydrotherapy pool in the area and could not find one.

He has started a petition to save the pool, which now has more than 2,300 signatures.

"In wont of a better word, we're disgusted," he said.

Rebecca Smart, who has signed the petition, uses the pool to help with fibromyalgia and hypermobility syndrome.

The 39-year-old was diagnosed in 2021 and said she has been waiting "years" to get into the pool.

She said: "In terms of quality of life, it has a massive impact, because I've been struggling for years with this condition, with no help whatsoever, being dismissed constantly.

"I finally found something that sort of gives me that purpose to be able to live life a little bit better and to now find it's going to be taken away... I wanted to cry.

"I feel upset, disappointed."

Mansfield's Labour MP Steve Yemm and Reform MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, have met with trust leaders to discuss the decision.

But the trust told the BBC it needed to deliver £35m of savings in 2026/27, and therefore had to consider "whether services are sustainable and represent best value for money".

It said the decision came after a "detailed service review", and they would now "focus on alternative evidence-based approaches to delivering rehabilitation and therapy services".

It did not answer how many patients currently use it, but said all will be able to finish their treatment before it closes.

Simon Illingworth, chief operating officer, said: "We appreciate how important the hydrotherapy pool is to many patients and families, and we understand the concern and strong feelings among those who have benefited from the service.

"Our priority is to provide safe, effective, high-quality care."

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