A lot of us visit our local leisure centre on a regular basis; it may be that we attend fitness classes there or that they have a swimming pool that we use. Whatever the reason, a duty of care by the staff on site is expected for us. It is their responsibility to ensure that all hazards are kept to a minimum and to ensure our safety.
Any leisure centre we visit has a duty of care to follow a number of health and safety regulations. Staff on site should carry out regular building and equipment checks, along with domestic checks that ensure spillages are cleaned up immediately.
Checks in leisure centres may consist of changing room checks; these should take place regularly to ensure that nobody can slip in the showers in the changing room area. If visiting a swimming pool, staff must make visitors aware that running around the pool in unacceptable as it is slippery and may cause somebody to slip or fall.
If you become injured whilst visiting your local leisure centre, you should make a member of staff aware of your injuries. All leisure centres should have a fully first aid trained member of staff on site. They will be the person who is called to assess your injuries and carry out the necessary arrangements when assisting you with the injuries.
If you become injured in an accident at a leisure centre, staff should also fill out an accident report form. This will require them to take note of your contact details, any injuries you have suffered, how they were caused, and what measures they took in assisting with your injuries.
After suffering from any injury you may wish to seek medical advice; when doing so, you should make your GP aware of how your injuries were caused. They will then make a note of this on your medical records.
If you have suffered injury in an accident that wasn’t your fault in the past three years you may be entitled to make an injury compensation claim.
