Last month, Emma Greenland was invited to participate in a virtual round table on the future of Aqua Therapy organised by Haverstock.
Participants included:-
Claire Barton, Partner at Haverstock
Sarah Cox, Specialist Chartered Physiotherapist at Fresh Physio
Dean Holden, Estates and Facilities Manager at Astrum Multi-Academy Trust
Joseph Hulbert, Divisional Sales Director at Innova Care Concepts
Gladys Marr, SEND Consultant at Space Zero
The discussion highlighted both the opportunities and ongoing challenges of designing aqua therapy pools. A key discussion point was how constraints around community hire might be rethought by exploring markets where shallow depth is less of a limitation, such as the growing sensory‑led hydrotherapy and wellness/spa sector, where sound (including tactile sound) is an important sensory component.
Participants also reflected on the potential of small, acoustically well‑designed, calming pool environments, which can offer huge benefits beyond traditional therapy, including meeting the sensory needs of neurodiverse users.
We hope to be able to contribute more to this group as their work progresses.
