Kamal Al-Hirsi

“Mr [name redacted] cleaned the pool by diving down with a suction hose and holding his breath. This had always been the method at Maida Vale, because there was no pole or extension head. Whilst this did not have an impact on Mr [name redacted] death, evidence was heard that it was inherently dangerous.”

“No thought appeared to have been given to the fact that the cleaner who often partnered Mr [name redacted] in the pool cleaning process, standing on poolside and directing him, was a non swimmer and not confident to enter the water even at a depth of 1.5m. In the event, she relied on a club member to undertake the rescue”

“Members of staff had not been given any water safety awareness training. Some did not have a proper understanding of the ways in which a person in difficulty in the water may present, for example that they will not necessarily wave in distress, and that they may sink rather than float. Mr [name redacted] simply sank to the bottom of the pool.”

“Some members of staff did not know the exact location of the panic buttons, nor the circumstances in which they should be pressed. The panic buttons did not sound an audible alarm throughout the building, so anyone pressing a button would not know if it had alerted others, and staff elsewhere (other than at reception) would be unaware that there was an emergency. It did not occur to the cleaner who first realised that Mr [name redacted] was in difficulty to press the alarm, but even if she had, this would”

“The protocol in place was that, on hearing an alarm, the receptionist should simply contact the duty manager (who was the designated site first aider): first by radio; failing that by sending someone to find him; and failing that by ringing the duty manager's mobile phone. The receptionist gave evidence that the radios often didn't work, though the regional manager disagreed. When the receptionist was notified that there was an emergency, she could not use the radio because the duty manager had”

“written procedures did not detail the action that should be taken on noting a bather in difficulty; they talked about RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society) techniques being used but these were never taught; and the duty manager at the time gave evidence that he did not ever remember reading the standard operating procedures or emergency action plan. Of particular concern to me is that, ten months following Mr [name redacted] death, many of these practices remain”