00:00Robyn Burridge has been enjoying the benefits of hydrotherapy for 76 years.
00:07It's an essential part of her physiotherapy, which helps her move.
00:12She was the driving force behind the construction six years ago
00:15of a hydrotherapy pool at Palmerston Hospital,
00:18but she's no longer allowed to use it.
00:21To my surprise, when we made some enquiries,
00:26we were told that it was no longer open to the public,
00:30that it was only to be used for inpatients and outpatients.
00:34NT Health suggested alternatives, but they were not suitable.
00:38So she's decided to make waves and fight for access to the one that is.
00:43This is about kids that need regular therapy.
00:45This is about people that are in severe pain,
00:48that without the hydrotherapy pool, they're making a lot more pain medication
00:53and they're not able to do their daily activities
00:56and function normally in the community.
00:58NT Health says the pool is used five days a week,
01:02but during a recent stay at the hospital, Robyn said she didn't see that.
01:06She believes it was only used a few hours a day, if that.
01:11Local physios have had to move sessions to a public pool,
01:15but it's not built for therapy.
01:17Their chairlift is not suitable for some specialty wheelchairs,
01:21and it's outdoors.
01:23We're exposed to the elements, so if there's lightning in the wet season
01:28or it's raining, then the clients are exposed to all of those elements
01:31when they're in the pool and when they're trying to get in and out.
01:34For now, Territorians with disabilities well and truly stuck in the deep end.
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