A NEW centre for NHS hydrotherapy has been officially unveiled at Dene Barton Community Hospital, Cotford St Luke.

The pool, which has relocated from Musgrove Park Hospital, will help NHS patients to self-manage certain conditions, while giving them more independence.

It first opened its doors to patients in August 2021, but it hasn’t been possible to celebrate the move due to the Covid-19 pandemic and various restrictions in place to keep people safe.

Helen Williams, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s (FT) physiotherapy outpatients team leader, said the hydro pool is an important part of the NHS trust’s physiotherapy department and that continuing to have this facility in Somerset means patients can get this level of specialised rehab closer to their home rather than needing to travel to Bristol or Exeter.

“We often see a group of patients who need to move forward with their rehab, but have extreme pain, loss of movement, or they simply aren’t able to weight-bear normally through their legs,” she said.

“On these occasions, our traditional rehab can be difficult for patients, but the supportive nature of the water helps them to avoid putting too much force through their legs, so they can offload their weight, but still be able to strengthen against the resistance in the water.

“The warm temperature of the water (between 34 -35 degrees) also helps to manage pain so quite often a patient’s muscles relax with blood circulation increasing – this goes a long way in helping patients to achieve more in the pool than during so-called ‘dry land’ physiotherapy.”

Hydrotherapy is provided as a stepping stone for a patient’s rehab rather than a longer-term solution, which is why sessions run for a maximum of six weeks.