Safety arrangements at the new Olympia swimming pool have been criticised after a woman broke her foot riding a flume there.
Michelle Seath, 26, from Inverkeithing, broke the fifth metatarsal bone in her left foot after being smashed from side to side while sliding down the green flume.
She claims lifeguards were then unprepared to deal with her injury, which has forced her to take time off work. Ms Seath was visiting with a friend and her four-year old daughter last Friday when the accident happened.
“I asked the girl at the top of the slides which flume it was OK to take children on as myself and my friend’s daughter wanted to go down,” said Ms Seath.
She was then advised that the green flume was safe for both of them to travel down.
“Going down the flume, I bashed my hip into the side on a turn and then hit my foot. Thankfully my friend’s daughter was protected between my legs.”
“When I got to the bottom, I tried to stand up but it was so painful,” she said, before going to a lifeguard for help.
“The lifeguard didn’t know what to do, he didn’t have an ice pack or anything. He ran it under cold water but thought it might be broken so suggested I go to hospital,” she added.
Her friend then drove her to hospital where it emerged she had broken the bone. She is now on crutches and has had to take leave from work as a result of the injury.
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever broken a bone,” Ms Seath said but added that her primary concern is that it does not happen again.
“With the school holidays coming up, the pool is going to be really busy and I’m concerned it will happen to someone again.
“I spoke to the duty manager on Monday morning, who advised that they will keep an eye on it but I really don’t think that is good enough as it is like they are waiting on someone else to get hurt before they do anything about it.”
She added: “He also offered me a free swim but I don’t think I’ll be going back after what has happened.”
Olympia, which is operated by Leisure & Culture Dundee in partnership with the city council, said in a statement: “Since the new Olympia opened on Thursday June 27, over 8,000 people have visited the pool. All facilities at the Olympia, including the flumes, meet strict health and safety standards and undergo regular inspections.
“Notices are in place to advise people about using the flumes and no incidents were noted on the green flume during a two-week trialling period prior to opening to the public.
“We have only received this complaint about the green flume since opening and it has been included in our health and safety trend analysis monitoring procedure.
“If this customer would like to contact us directly we can discuss this complaint with them.”