A helping hand for people with disabilities

Access to aquatic environments is vitally important to the quality of life for both

mobility challenged individuals and seniors. A pool provides the optimal setting for low impact exercise or therapy. Fear of falling and other traditional land-based concerns virtually disappear when exercise is moved into the pool.

As our society ages, the mobility challenged population increases, as does the need for safe and accessible pools. Most States in Australia require local councils to provide their public swimming pools with disability access. This may take the form of a ramp or a disability lift. To retrofit a ramp into an existing swimming pool can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

However, it is a simple process to fit a permanent or semi-permanent disability lift at a fraction of the cost.

The Federal Government has just released a new Australian Standard “Disability (access to premises, buildings) Standards 2010” which covers the minimum specifications for all disability access products. The IQ Aquatic Splash Pool & Spa Lift is a semi-permanent lift that exceeds these requirements.

It is battery powered and operated by a screw driven actuator. It features full mechanised left & right as well as up & down motion. The hand control is completely waterproof, and allows either the user or the attendant to control its operation with ease.

The seating system is the first system designed specifically for disabled swimmers. The seat itself is both deeper and higher to both provide a more stable platform for sitting, as well as being able to better accommodate swimmers with reduced trunk stability.

For more information contact David Lloyd from International Quadratics on 61_2 9774 5550 or  0418 203 743.