Wheelchair unfriendly

I am deeply upset and disappointed. I trained at Virgin Active Menlyn for many years, but since the recent and extremely expensive downgrade, the facility has become unsafe and undignified for wheelchair users. The single most dangerous moment for a wheelchair user is a seat transfer. Seat transfers present a significant safety risk and are widely recognised as one of the most common causes of injury. Yet after the downgrade, a wheelchair user is now forced to complete five separate seat transfers just to move between the swimming pool and the bathroom. Management’s solution appears to be staff assistance. That is not an acceptable solution. While assistance may be well-intended, it does not adequately address the underlying safety and dignity concerns. Requiring physical assistance while a person is wet, tired, and wearing swimwear only raises serious issues around personal dignity, independence, and reasonable accommodation. I will not allow any man—of any race—to touch my wet body while I am wearing only a swimsuit, tired, cold, and vulnerable. I have dignity and self-respect. The fact that management considers this acceptable shows a profound lack of understanding and respect for disabled people. No one—disabled or able-bodied—would want to be physically handled while wearing a swimsuit only. Being disabled is already challenging enough without being subjected to humiliation and loss of personal dignity. Accessibility is not about charity or assistance. It is about safe, independent, and dignified access. Virgin Active Menlyn has failed on all three.