Notice Board
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2022
Notice of 31st AGM
Date: 21st July 2022
Time: 7.15pm
Venue: Small Meeting Room Dingwall Academy
Please contact Linda Kirkland, secretary, for more information on 07999 584955
All welcome
POOL AND SHOP REOPENING (posted 5 April 2021)
We are delighted to announce that we are putting plans in place for the reopening of both the pool and our charity shop. We plan to reopen the Charity Shop on 26th April and the Hydrotherapy Pool on 10th May 2021, unless national guidance changes. We plan to implement the same programme for the pool, that we had in place prior to Christmas. Please do not contact the pool at the moment, our staff will contact clients from mid-April to confirm arrangements.
CLOSURE FOR FESTIVE & EXTENDED PERIOD (posted 22 Dec 2020)
Please note that the planned pool and charity shop closures over the festive period have had to be extended to comply with national Covid-19 guidance. They will now be closed until 18th January 2021, and this may be extended depending on guidance updates over the next few weeks.
We wish all our clients a safe festive period and hope it won’t be long before we can open our doors again in 2021.
Puffin Pool Board
EXTENDED OPENING HOURS FOR CHARITY SHOP (posted 18 Nov 2020)
We are delighted to announce that we are extending the opening hours of our Charity Shop to include Saturday mornings from 10am to 1pm. We hope to see you for a browse soon.
POOL REOPENING UPDATE (posted 22 Oct 2020)
As you may know we are reopening next month. We hope our previous clients can understand that due to Government guidelines, new Health and Safety measures and enhanced cleaning procedures we are operating with significantly reduced numbers and sessions. The measures that have been implemented are to ensure that both our customers and staff are safe whilst using the facility.
With our capacity being reduced we are trying our absolute best to accommodate as many of our previous clients as possible, however it is going to be impossible for us to fit in everyone under these current measures
We understand that not everyone is ready to return at this stage, and we have advised all clients in this position to get in contact with us when they are looking to return.
We have currently contacted all clients apart from a few groups who previously attended on a Monday and hope to have made contact by the end of the week.
If you have not heard from us, please check your voicemail, and get in contact with the staff at the pool ASAP as we only have a few sessions available. If sessions are unavailable your name will be added to a waiting list pending a permanent session becoming available. There may be floating sessions available once the facility is up and running.
Many Thanks,
Puffin Pool Staff
PUFFIN POOL REOPENS WITH ESSENTIAL COVID19 RESTRICTIONS
The Board and staff of the Puffin Pool are delighted to announce that, after a lot of work by Lisa and all the staff, it is possible to reopen a COVID19 safe pool. To enable this, changes have had to be made which will require the co-operation and understanding of the users. However we appreciate how much access to the pool has been missed and how it is needed for users physical and mental well being.
The number of weekly sessions has had to be reduced from 68 to 48 to allow staff to do necessary cleaning between sessions. A major change will be that only 5 users (excluding carers) will be able to access the pool at a time because of social distancing. These two measures represent a drastic decrease in the number of people using the pool each week. It is therefore necessary to increase the admission fees from £4 to £8 to help cover reduced income. Admission fees only ever contribute 37% of the running costs of the pool. The Board has agreed for Pool financial reserves to be used along with income from other sources to cover remaining running costs.
The pool will open on 2nd November, initially only for the use of patients from the Rheumatology Unit, and then a week later, on 9th November, it will be open to all private groups. The week beginning 16th November the timetable will then be open for previous users. Each user will be contacted on the telephone by staff prior to opening to go through a health questionnaire and arrange appropriate session use. People will not necessarily be able to attend on the day or time they did previously due to the restricted numbers. It is hoped that all previous users who want to return will be able to be catered for. Anyone new wanting to use the pool will be put on a waiting list.
The full range of changes is as follows:-
· Number of users per session reduced to 5 (excluding carers)
· Number of sessions reduced from 68 to 48 per week
· Start of sessions to have a 5 minute stagger
· Users asked to arrive with bathing costume under their clothes
· Charges to be increased to £8 for an individual session, £10 for an adult and baby and £40 group fee (within timetable).
· Contactless payments now available and users are asked to pay this way whenever possible
· Quick shower only on leaving pool no soap or shampoo to be used
· Users will not necessarily be able to attend the day/session they used to attend
We are also please to announce that when the pool reopens we have introduced 2 new adult and baby blocks on Saturdays. The first session will run from 11:00-11:45 / 11:05-11:50 and the second from 12:05 -12:50 / 12:10-12:55. These staggered operating times are to insure social distancing in and around the facility. Each block of sessions will run for 5 weeks costing £50, i.e. £10 per session, this cost covers one adult and one infant. The first blocks will start on the 22nd of November and finish on the 20th of December. To book please phone us on 01349 864414 as there are limited spaces available.
DONATIONS TO OUR CHARITY SHOP
We are pleased to announce that we are going to start accepting donations to our charity shop. This will be phased in over the next few weeks. We are delighted to receive your donations but to help our staff process these safely, please only bring donations as specified below.
From Monday 14 September, bric-à-brac can be left on any day when the shop is open.
From 14 & 15 September, books & small electrical goods can be received on Mondays & Tuesdays
And from 21 & 22 September, clothing, household goods & accessories will also be welcome on Mondays & Tuesdays.
Thank you so much for your support. Susan, our shop manager and our fantastic team of volunteers look forward to seeing you in the shop soon.
ANNUAL AGM 10 SEPTEMBER 2020
Our annual AGM this year cannot be held in the usual way due to the Covid-19 pandemic regulations. Instead it will take place online using Zoom. It will be held at 7.15pm on 10th September. Everyone is welcome to join us. Anyone wishing to attend please contact our Secretary, Linda Kirkland on 07999584955.
COVID-19 UPDATE - CHARITY SHOP REOPENING on 17th AUGUST 2020
We are delighted to announce that our Charity Shop will be reopening on Monday 17th August and the photo below shows that we are well into our preparations to create a safe environment for our staff and customers.
We are also pleased to reveal an exciting new development. We will accept donations of small electrical goods in working order, giving you an additional reason to come and visit us. A volunteer has come forward who is qualified to PAT Test (Portable Appliance Test) electrical goods to ensure they are safe for use. Due to the limited size of the shop only small items can be accepted such as lamps, irons, kettles and hair dryers/straighteners.
The opening hours will be 10 am - 3.30 pm from Monday to Friday.
For full details of the reopening please see our Shop page.
COVID-19 - UPDATE FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR.
Dear Puffin Pool Users,
I am very aware that it is now 8 weeks since the Puffin Pool had to close its doors because of Covid 19.
I know that those with stiff painful joints and other conditions will be desperately missing the ability to exercise in warm water.
The staff are furloughed, but a skeleton staff are checking on the pool at regular intervals, to ensure all is well, while we wait for permission to open up again.
As soon as it is safe to do so Highlife Highland will advise us, but in the meantime, please stay warm, stay safe and I hope to see you back at the pool as soon as we possibly can.
With Kind Regards
Helen Charley
Chairman Puffin Pool Board
17th May 2020
POOL CLOSURE DUE TO COVID-19
We are sorry to have had to make the decision that with effect from 5pm on 20th March 2020, the pool will be closed until further notice. We will update all our clients and users with any information regarding the pool's reopening as soon as this is possible. All clients spaces in our sessions will be kept and unaffected, when we are eventually able to reopen.
We have also had to close our charity shop. Can we please ask that NO DONATIONS are left outside the shop. The shop will have no staff or volunteers on site and any donations left outside will be removed and we will get no benefit from them.
As you can appreciate, this is a very difficult time for all of us and we ask for patience and understanding while we and the community work through this period of uncertainty.
Puffin Pool Board
19 March 2020
POOL RE-OPENING 29TH FEBRUARY 2020
I can confirm that the repairs to the roof damage have been completed today and the pool will be open from tomorrow 29th February as usual. Thank you for your patience while we sorted this out.
CHRISTMAS CLOSURE REMINDER 🎅🎄
This year the pool will be closed on Tuesday the 24th of December and will re-open as normal on Saturday the 4th of January.
POOL CLOSURE
Good news! Due to the success of our fundraising efforts we are now able to install our new heating system with work starting on Monday the 30th of September. Due to this work being carried out the pool will be closed from Monday the 30th of September till Friday the 4th of October, inclusive.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Increase in session charges for Puffin Pool Users.
At its meeting on 20th June 2019, the Puffin Pool Board agreed to increase individual session charges from £3.50 to £4, effective from 1st August 2019. The additional income that this should generate is required to ensure that we meet the day-to-day running costs of the pool, and is based on the assumption that we will continue to receive our grants from both NHS Highland and Highland Council. The charges for group sessions will be reviewed at the next Board meeting in September.
WELL DONE TO OUR AMAZING STAFF
Issued on 12th June 2019
A massive THANK YOU
Taking into account both the money that has been received and funds pledged to the Puffin Pool, the Puffin Pool Board is delighted to announce that the fundraising target of £60,000 has been achieved. The Board would like to express their gratitude to pool users and supporters throughout the community for their generosity. Planning for the new plant to be installed will now begin, hopefully with minimal disruption for pool users.
Once again thank you for your support and although we have reached this target and can replace the plant soon, we always require fundraising to keep the pool running so please continue to support us.
Helen Charley
Chairperson Puffin Hydrotherapy Pool Board