Pool Hoist Case Study

Enhancing Swimming Access at Briarwood School

Briarwood Special School needed a modern hoist system to ensure all students, including those with severe disabilities, could safely access their swimming pool. Their outdated hoist no longer met evolving needs, requiring a more flexible solution.

Medaco designed and installed a state-of-the-art X/Y ceiling hoist system, enabling full pool coverage, multi-user access, and seamless transitions between slings, chairs, and stretchers. This upgrade ensures inclusive swimming for every student at Briarwood. Discover our full range of pool hoists here.

Enabling swimming access for all

Briarwood Special School provides care and education for children and young people with severe and profound learning difficulties. They have a state-of-the-art swimming pool and wanted to enable students of all abilities to access it.

Identifying the access challenge

Briarwood needed to replace an aging static pool hoist that contained rust, but students needs had changed since that was installed. They now needed the additional option to lift within a stretcher to enable pupils with severe disabilities to access the swimming pool, and this required a more advanced hoist system. The school also wanted to enable two students requiring hoisting to access the pool at the same time, to increase opportunities for pupils.

Designing the solution

Based on comprehensive site surveys, we were able to identify the key challenges. The large poolside wall and big steps needed careful consideration within the track layout design, and air conditioning ducts and electrics within the ceiling needed allowing for. Having established Briarwood’s needs, Medaco’s installations team designed a full X/Y ceiling hoist system, confirmed in detailed CAD drawings. With two traverse rails and two ceiling hoist pods, it made it easy to change between a sling, chair or stretcher, and also gave full room and pool coverage for two users at a time.

Installing swiftly and seamlessly

Installation was carefully planned and scheduled to ensure that works would cause minimal disruption to the school’s daily operation. Open and thorough communication with the customer and contractors on site ensured the project ran smoothly.

Summary

• Lifecycle replacement and improvement of existing hoist system
• Full pool coverage with 13m x 6m XY system
• Multi-pupil access with two separate traverse rails and two ceiling hoist pods
• One powered pod and one manual pod for emergency backup
• 450KG Safe Working Load
• Ability to hoist with a sling, a chair and a stretcher

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re looking to upgrade your SEND school’s mobility equipment this Easter, Medaco is here to help.
Book a free consultation to discuss your needs and explore your options.
Request a quote if you already know what you’re looking for.

Let’s work together to create a safer, more supportive environment for your students and staff.