Woman feared for life after chlorine exposure at Long Eaton spa


Enid Hollingworth, a woman from Chilwell in Nottinghamshire, was one of 27 people exposed to excess chlorine at Clifford Health Club and Spa in Regent Street, Long Eaton. Mrs Hollingworth was unable to breathe and felt her “lungs burning” while swimming at the club on 7 January. 10 people out of the 27 exposed showed symptoms, and all 27 individuals were taken to the hospital, including two other women who were also in the pool who remain anonymous. They heavily criticised the staff at the spa on their handling of the incident.

According to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, chemicals in the pool had been overfilled, causing the mixture of some chemicals within the systems, which led to the exposure. During her swim, Mrs Hollingworth could smell toxic fumes and was instantly coughing and struggling to breathe. After shouting for help, an elderly man helped her out of the pool while the lifeguard took no action.

Mrs Hollingworth received help by coughing and choking at reception, where she stayed for around two hours on oxygen before being taken to hospital overnight and discharged the following day. The pool and spa reopened four hours later. Mrs Hollingworth believes that the staff’s approach to the emergency was “totally inadequate for an emergency situation,” and is considering legal action. She had no breathing issues before her swim.

Erewash Borough Council has launched an investigation into the exposure, and the spa said in a statement that “Our health and safety managers and external pool plant consultants have retested all our systems and staff on their competency. The outside relevant contractors and consultants have told us to reopen as the very rare issue that caused the incident has been resolved.” In response to the claims made by Mrs Hollingworth and the other two women, the spa had “nothing further to add.

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