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Leader brands pool queues 'unacceptable'
EMERGENCY talks were held yesterday over "absurd" and "unacceptable" staff shortages at Oxford's only public outdoor swimming pool.
Bob Price, the leader-elect of Oxford City Council, met Town Hall chief executive Peter Sloman after experiencing first hand queuing at Hinksey Pool for nearly an hour.
His experience mirrored that of hundreds of bathers who have been forced to endure queues because of a lack of lifeguards available to work at Oxford's six swimming pools over the last four days.
Queues of more than 100 built up at the pool on Sunday - the hottest day of the year - because management restricted numbers on safety grounds due to a lack of staff.
Two other pools - Peers Sports Centre and the Blackbird Leys Swimming Pool - were closed to the public so that staff could work at Hinksey Pool.
The council admitted there were only four lifeguards out of a possible eight on duty at the pool until 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Chris Lee, city council spokesperson, said the council was trying to recruit 16 new lifeguards, including four that had been appointed but were unable to work because the council was waiting on the result of criminal record checks.
He added the problem was "being addressed" and said the council was trying to reduce its reliance on casual staff.
It was also reviewing the capacities pools could operate at and reviewing staff terms and conditions to increase staffing flexibility.
However, he could not guarantee the problem would not be repeated.
Mr Price said: "It is both absurd and unacceptable. I was there myself on Friday with my daughter and we had to wait for 50 minutes.
"People were very angry then, and it has carried on all weekend and today. It is unacceptable for managerial inefficiency to have caused so many problems for customers."
Mr Price, who will officially take over as council leader on Thursday, after the Labour Party seized control of the council from the Lib Dems earlier this month, said he had been in contact with Mr Sloman every day since Saturday in a bid to find a solution to the staffing problems.
David Rundle, deputy leader of the Lib Dems, said longstanding lifeguard shortages had been partly due to a recruitment freeze, which was put in place because council officers did not know how many people were working in its leisure services.
Tanya Tsikas, 45, from Iffley, who took her daughters Olya and Sofia to the pool on Sunday, said: "We were looking forward to a nice, long swim but it was cut short.
"The council knew it would be nice weather at the weekend. They should be able to get enough staff so it runs properly."
8:47am Tuesday 13th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: Andrew, Oxford on 9:57am Tue 13 May 08
[italic]"Council officers did not know how many people were working in its leisure services."[/italic]
Hopeless.
Time to get the auditors in. Whether it be a company or local authority, it should be very easy to identify who works for organisation.
"Council officers did not know how many people were working in its leisure services."
Hopeless.
Time to get the auditors in. Whether it be a company or local authority, it should be very easy to identify who works for organisation.
Posted by: R, Oxford on 12:21pm Tue 13 May 08
So because Bob Price had to queue with his daughter an investigation as to the why this situation occurred and meetings with senior council staff are being held.
I wonder if the same effort would be put into investigating this fiasco had Bob Price not kicked up a stink becasue he had to queue for a whole 50 minutes!!!
I think we all know the answer to that!
So because Bob Price had to queue with his daughter an investigation as to the why this situation occurred and meetings with senior council staff are being held.
I wonder if the same effort would be put into investigating this fiasco had Bob Price not kicked up a stink becasue he had to queue for a whole 50 minutes!!!
I think we all know the answer to that!
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