Lara Lill outlines the goals and benefits of building a network of dementia-friendly swimming pools. The key goals are to enhance the swimming experience for those with dementia, improve understanding of motivations and barriers, and support the Prime Minister's dementia challenge. Swimming provides independence, social connection, empowerment, relaxation, and low-impact exercise for those with dementia. Common issues with pools can be addressed through improved signage, lighting, flooring, and minimizing distractions. The most effective approaches have been increasing visibility of dementia-friendly swimming, improving pool environments, tailoring activities to different needs, and ongoing evaluation. Collaboration across partners has helped change attitudes, deliver strategic priorities, and enhance skills in the sector. The approach

1. Lara Lill
ASA Head of Health and Wellbeing

3. ASA Health
and Wellbeing

4. Clear intentions and impact
• Build a network of dementia friendly pools
• Enhance the swimming experience and increase
participation
• Improve insight into motivations, barriers and
perceptions
• Supporting the PM dementia challenge
• Produce guidance for pools and those in health
care provision

5. 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

6. dementia swimming
Produced with Pete by the
Dementia Design Consultancy
www.dementia.design

7. Common issues
• Poor signage and lack of way-finding cues
• Poor use of colour and contrast
• Unhelpful lighting – glare and pooling
• Shiny floors
• Clutter and distractions
• No personalisation of space

8. Find the ‘me’ in dementia
• Innovation : small change = big difference
• Re-design customer areas and create ownership of
the environment
• Impact of dementia
• Fewer choices and fewer options
• Reduce distractions
• Need calm and reassurance
• Appropriate balance of stimulation
• Memory prompts and props

9. What has made the most difference?
1. Increase swimming’s visibility and relevance
• Training of front of house, all staff, cascade ‘Step Inside’
2. Improve the overall environment
• Reception, changing rooms, pool
3. Tailor the offer to different needs
• Aqua Relax, public sessions
4. Monitoring and evaluation
• Centralised audit of participant recruitment and
retention
• Case studies using interviews
• Qualitative research to assess personal challenges and
benefits
• Pre and post comparison group

10. Collaboration
• Change in attitudes and behaviours
• Breaking new ground – innovative and stronger
partnerships indicating local leadership is key to
success
• Raising profile of dementia and swimming – ability
to deliver strategic priorities
• Contributing to Age Friendly neighbourhoods and
cities

11. Why is the approach so
distinctive?
• New and unique collaborations between a broad
range of partners and sectors
• Enhance skills of the sector through excellent
training, wider application beyond the programme
• New work area, increase the appetite of
professionals to deliver more specific activities
• Focussed remit, dedicated resources and is well
placed in the local authority
• Its exploratory and evolutionary rather than
prescribed