Letter to pool managers

WATER EXERCISE FOR THE ELDERLY

(WEFTE Pronounced ‘wefty’ like hefty)

Email: wefte@outlook.com                       Hillcrest Corner, EXETER, EX4 4SH

Dear Pool Manager

I need your help after lockdown.  Only you can help.

Your contribution for the elderly to exercise is always important, but particularly after the covid ‘stay at home’ encouraged “do nothing”. Stiff limbs and reduced mobility result.

My Aim is to encourage pool managers to provide sessions for swimming and water-based exercises for the elderly.  

My Objective is to increase the number of elderly people swimming or doing water-based exercises. 

My Method of encouragement is to establish a website of pools providing opportunities.  Google wefte.org and see for yourself.  The wefte website provides access to your website, your provisions for the elderly, direct contact with your LocalAgeUK and numerous videos of suitable exercises. 

You may ask ‘Why?’

You will remember social services were in crisis before the coronavirus.  The problem has not gone away.  There aren’t enough care homes for the elderly.  It’s likely to get worse.   That population is expected to grow in the next 10 years.  The post-war baby boom (1945-50) is already aged 70 to 75. 

It’s all about mobility   I see the same tragic events over and over again.   When the elderly lose mobility, they can’t look after themselves. They are forced to sell their homes where they want to live, in order to pay for residential care, where they don’t want to be.

An answer   There’s a great deal of evidence that if elderly people maintain even modest exercise, they maintain mobility, their independence and their quality of life, much longer than they otherwise would. 

WEFTE has particular advantages.

1.   Swimming exercises more muscles than any sport. 

2.   WEFTE can be tailor-made for individual needs. 

3.   WEFTE is non-impact for fragile bones.  

4.   WEFTE offers laughter and friendships for the lonely. 

5.   WEFTE is self-paced.   You can stop whenever you want.  When out jogging or in a team sport you can’t just stop. 

6.   Water resistance gently strengthens.   

7.   Water supports you.  You don’t need walking sticks. 

8.   Physiotherapists can offer personal advice. 

9.   Learning gives a sense of achievement.   

10. Most of all, swimming is best for the cardiovascular system and quality of life in old age. 

That’s why you, and only you, can help.  Yes, I’m asking for kindness, but not for charity.  The elderly will payyou more than most.  It’s a marketing opportunity. 

What you can do

First, timetable a normally slack hour for the elderly. 

Google Wefte.org, enter your postcode, update your details, and use your postcode again to contact your LocalAgeUK

Then publicise your service.  Find local physiotherapists on the web.  Email them.  Use local papers and newsletters.  Contact local care homes and other local groups.  Tell social media about your WEFTE.org website.  Advertise for non-swimmers.

To ensure your website is relevant to the elderly, please check you have completed the wefte survey so that WEFTE.org will automatically publicise and update your facilities for the elderly at any time. 

This survey asks the kind of questions the elderly might ask:

Find me the pools near where I live.  How can I contact them?

Which are the most suitable for what I need?

Access to the pool.  How can I, with my disabilities, get from home to the poolside?

Does the changing room provide what I want?

Has the pool manager thought about what the elderly need?

Do they have equipment that will help me with my exercises?

Does the Local AgeUK organise Water Exercises For The Elderly (WEFTE)?

Yours sincerely,

Donald Bligh (Prof)