This document summarizes the Dementia Friendly Swimming Project run by Swim England. It discusses how the project aims to challenge perceptions that swimming is not an activity for those with dementia. It promotes partnerships between health, social care, and leisure sectors to create a more inclusive environment. The project focuses on 3 areas: increasing dementia awareness training for staff, ensuring accessible and supported swimming sessions, and creating a dementia-friendly environment in pools. It provides examples of environmental modifications and personal stories that demonstrate the benefits participants experience, such as improved mood, mobility, and social connection from the swimming sessions.
3. Challenging perceptions and having an
impact
• Value of swimming
• Is swimming seen as an activity of choice by people living with dementia?
• Improved insight into motivations, barriers and perceptions
• Building partnerships between leisure, health and social care sectors
• Promoting a culture change
• Working together to enhance community support for people affected by
dementia
• Creating a network of dementia friendly pools
• Enhancing the swimming experience for people affected by dementia
4. Independence
Feeling free in water &
able to do movements
impossible on land
Social connection
Belonging to a
community of fellow
swimmers
Once in the water, swimming delivers much deeper
rewards
Our audience experience an EQUALITY IN THE
WATER that they can miss taking part in other activities
& in life in general
Empowerment
A time to just feel like
yourself, not your
impairment
Relaxation & enjoyment
– including relieving pain
On the surface, swimming is recognised to offer relevant
benefits:
Less risky fitness activity
(low impact) - reinforced by
health care professionals
5. Collaborative approach
• Promoted a culture change
• New work area – increased awareness and appetite to deliver more specific
activities
• Catalyst to building new partnerships between previously non-
traditional partners
• Health, social care, leisure, housing, transport….
• Helped raise profile of role swimming/physical activity can play in the lives of
people living with dementia
• Customer led
• Its exploratory and evolutionary rather than prescribed
6. Risk v Choice
• Swimming not a natural choice of activity for people with dementia
• Linked to perception and a tendency to look at the risks involved
• Use insight collected through customer led approach to:
• Help reduce the risk associated with swimming/pool environment
• Enable swimming to remain a choice of activity for people living with dementia
• Potential risks/barriers to participation
• Lack of support in centre/staff awareness of dementia
• Water
• Inability to swim/ uncertainty of swimming ability
• Changing environment
8. Increasing dementia awareness
• First step – upskill the workforce in dementia awareness across
leisure facilities
• Understanding Dementia in the Leisure Environment
• 557 leisure staff trained
• Contributing towards Prime Minister Challenge
• 185 Dementia Friends created
• Currently 45 pools delivering DFS sessions across England and
working with a further 104 pools
9. Accessible, safe and supported provision
• Traditional vs non-traditional
• Customer led
• Market research with services supporting people living with dementia
• Feedback from participants
• Barriers
• Transport
• Availability of support to attend
• Water and swimming confidence – perception
• Motivations
• Relaxation
• Family time/Social time
10. Creating a Dementia Friendly Environment
• Innovation – Small changes = big impact
• Common issues
• Navigation – signage
• Noise
• Unhelpful lighting – glare on pools and wet surfaces
• Fear of slipping
• Number of accessible changing areas
• Poor use of colour and contrast
• Lack of personalisation
15. Personal stories
• Eachstep Dementia Care Home
• Been attending regularly since
July 2016
• Liz, Assistant Service Manager ‘I
have thoroughly enjoyed supporting
the ladies and gents at Eachstep to
take part in the sessions. It can
sometimes be difficult for the people
we support to engage with physical
activities. However, they have taken
to it like ducks to water – no pun
intended.’
16. ‘You see such a change in people when they get into the pool. It’s lovely.
Everyone benefits, some swimmers have very stiff joints but they relax
straight away in the water. Others have difficulty sleeping, but after a
session in the pool have no trouble. And, some people we work with have
high levels of anxiety, but once in the water completely change.’
‘When we first heard of the project we didn’t think it would be
possible to bring a small group, we’re regular swimmers
ourselves and when we were at the pool saw someone using
the hoist and how accessible it was. The pool staff are excellent
and will always help. From car to pool can be done without any
walking and there’s a hoist, komode and plinth bed in the
changing room.’
Carer
Story from
Bristol
17. Feedback
‘The best thing about the
dementia programme is it
makes me fitter and
happier. It boosts my self
esteem.’
• ‘I’ve seen an improvement in my general health
and control of other health issues.’
‘It gets me out and I meet people. I also
used to swim every Wednesday at school
so it brings back fond memories.’
Swimming is a very positive activity from my
perspective. I see the improvement in mood and
mobility it provides to my supported men. I would like
to acknowledge and commend the staff at East
Manchester LC. We have always found them to be
supportive, kind and welcoming. Their attitude and
help has made the sessions all the more enjoyable
and relaxing.
‘Swimming was a new outlet for my
illnesses. I sometimes got fed up with
life but my new interests got me out of
the doldrums. My self worth has
improved and my confidence has
improved. It’s just a simple swim but it
has changed my life. So give it a go –
it’s great fun! Thank you and go for it!
