Open day information

The Pinder Trust will be holding an open day on Saturday 26 November from 9am to 1pm with the aim of showing the public and families of patients who use the facilities first-hand the state of the art hydrotherapy centre, as well as having the opportunity to meet and talk to Sarah Wratten, Head of Aquatic Physiotherapy and Founder of Pinder Aquatic Physiotherapy. To book your place, please email: enquires@pindertrust.com.

Hidden hydrotherapy treasure in the heart of Winchester

Turn left when you walk into Winchester’s Everyone Active leisure centre and a whole new world of cutting-edge hydrotherapy awaits you. Local innovative swimming charity, The Pinder Trust, has partnered with Winchester City Council to put accessibility and wellbeing at the heart of the sport & leisure park, Everyone Active. The centre is home to a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy suite which is available for aquatic physiotherapy, pain relief, support with sports injuries, general relaxation and for patients with long term health conditions. The core focus of the pool is to provide a community-use hydrotherapy pool beneficial for all to access.

The Pinder Trust was founded forty years ago in 1972 by local lady Miss Margaret Pinder to provide much-needed aquatic physiotherapy in the Winchester area. The original Pinder Centre hydrotherapy pool was in Avington, five miles east of Winchester. Whilst the original Centre was closed in 2012 due to financial shortfalls, The Pinder Trust has continued to subsidise hydrotherapy treatments for certain patients at other sites.

Several years ago, The Trust recognised that there was still a great demand for a modern hydrotherapy centre but in a more central location. When Winchester City Council were developing plans for the new leisure centre at Bar End, The Pinder Trust saw the ideal opportunity to help provide funding for a new hydrotherapy facility and The Pinder Hydrotherapy Pool was born.

The transformative effect of physical wellbeing and the experience of hydrotherapy for patients and their families is at the core of these innovative facilities. The Trust provides funding for individuals with a wide range of needs to access aquatic physiotherapy at the Pinder Hydrotherapy Pool which is located within Winchester Sport and Leisure Park.

Beneficiaries can be referred by healthcare professionals or can self-refer. Means testing will be in place but details for this remain to be finalised. At the heart of the Pinder Trust is the simple goal to provide whatever an individual needs to allow them to benefit from the health-giving properties of water. It is hoped that users of the hydrotherapy pool will benefit from its therapeutic environment and experience a sense of wellbeing and relaxation during their sessions.

Going forward, The Pinder Trust is also committed to removing the barriers that might prevent people with physical or neuro disabilities from experiencing the benefits of open-water swimming. Swimming outdoors, either in a natural setting such as a lake or in a man-made unheated body of water like a lido, has been proven to have a positive impact on both mental and physical health. In 2023, The Pinder Trust plans to organise open-water swims and to provide experienced open-water swimming coaches, transportation and funding for equipment to allow everyone to access this powerful natural panacea.

For more information about the hydrotherapy pool see pinderaquaticphysio.co.uk/aquatic-physiotherapy.

Biography: Sarah Wratten

Sarah has 24 years’ experience working as an aquatic physiotherapist. She qualified in 1997 as a physiotherapist and gained a Masters in Manual Therapy in 2008. Sarah has completed aquatic therapy courses in the UK and abroad, including the four-week Bath Hydrotherapy Course qualifying as a hydrotherapist, and a two week course in Valens, Switzerland. She has devoted her career specialising in treating patients in hydrotherapy pools. Her career history to date includes working in the NHS, private sector and for the Ministry of Defence as the Clinical Aquatic Therapy Lead for 10 years. She is experienced in treating all conditions musculoskeletal, neurological, rheumatological, orthopaedic and sports injuries, from those whom have no active movement through to elite athletes.

Sarah has been a committee member of the Aquatic Therapy Association for Chartered Physiotherapists (ATACP) since 2001 and is currently the Co-Chair. She is also a committee member of the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG). Sarah is an ATACP ccredited tutor in aquatic therapy teaching courses to physiotherapists and healthcare practitioners in the UK and abroad since 2006. Sarah is passionate about aquatic therapy and understands the need for rehabilitation to be personalised, effective and enjoyable.