LAMPTON Leisure, who operate leisure services in the London Borough of Hounslow, are leading the way in leisure inclusivity and calling for the rest of the industry to follow in a bid to reduce pressure on the NHS and other care services.
Since taking over the operation of the borough’s leisure facilities, Lampton Leisure, part of Lampton Group, a Local Authority Trading Company, has been expanding its team, upskilling staff and offering programmes to centre users to improve accessibility and inclusivity.
Team members have recently attended inclusion training to help them better assist sight impaired customers. The session helped staff better understand how to support users in navigating centres, as well as focusing on customer service and other adaptations that can be made to make centres accessible. Training to support hearing impaired customers is taking place in the near future too as part of an ongoing upskilling programme for team members.
Paula Vincent, health and wellbeing manager at Lampton Leisure, said: “We believe leisure centres should provide preventative healthcare for the community, leading to a positive impact on the NHS.
“I am working closely with social prescribers, the NHS, public health and Voluntary Community Social Enterprises within the community to build a safe space for everyone and making our centres truly accessible is a key part of this.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering preventative healthcare we have employed a new sports and community engagement officer, Katia Delneri, who holds a Masters in Public Health and will be a valuable addition to our team.”
Links with local health charities and partners is helping Lampton Leisure deliver on its mission to become a health hub in the community, facilitating access to valuable partner services in the borough.