{"id":682085,"date":"2026-07-09T10:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/682085\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T10:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:13:14","slug":"dad-who-collapsed-on-holiday-given-devastating-news-as-hes-left-with-nowhere-to-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/682085\/","title":{"rendered":"Dad who collapsed on holiday given devastating news as he’s left with nowhere to turn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keith Wardle has hit out at bosses at Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport<\/p>\n

05:46, 09 Jul 2026Updated 07:15, 09 Jul 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keith Wardle(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n

A dad who had to learn to walk again after he collapsed with a rare condition whilst on holiday has been left with nowhere to turn to after hospital bosses announced they were closing a specialist swimming pool which has been as \u2018lifeline\u2019 during his rehab.<\/p>\n

Previously fit and active Keith Wardle, 77, from Stockport<\/a>, was visiting his daughter who lives in Boston in the US in October 2022 when he suddenly fell ill.<\/p>\n

He was rushed to hospital where, following scans, he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barr\u00e9 syndrome, a rare neurological condition that affects people\u2019s senses and movements.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n

Dad-of-one and grandad Keith, from Hazel Grove<\/a>, was ventilated and was unconscious for around a month before he was eventually flown back to the UK by air ambulance.<\/p>\n

After landing at Manchester Airport<\/a>, he was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital where he spent around a fortnight in the intensive care unit (ICU).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keith in hospital following his diagnosis(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n

He was eventually transferred to a local specialist rehab centre where he had to begin re-learning to walk along with other basic daily tasks such as brushing his teeth.<\/p>\n

After returning home, Keith began physio and part of his treatment was sessions in the Hydrotherapy pool at Stepping Hill.<\/p>\n

A hydrotherapy pool is a specialist warm-water pool which is used to help relieve pain and improve joint mobility. They use water\u2019s buoyancy to reduce joint stress and the warmth of the water to relax muscles.<\/p>\n

After his initial sessions with a physio, Keith began booking weekly sessions at the pool in order to do his own rehab work.<\/p>\n

However at the end of last month he was given the news that the Stockport NHS<\/a> Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill, had decided to close the facility on September 30 this year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keith had to re-learn to walk among a number of other everyday tasks(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n

Until then, as part of a transition phase, patients are being transferred to different services and Keith has been told he is unable to book any more sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a lifeline for me,\u201d he said. \u201cA lifesaver in fact. With my condition balance is a big issue. I can\u2019t stand on one leg and if I close my eyes, even with two feet on the ground, there\u2019s a chance I could fall. With the pool it doesn\u2019t matter too much if you fall, you\u2019re not going to seriously hurt yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has given me the opportunity to exercise myself in controlled conditions. It has given me dignity and helped me build my confidence. The benefits have been incalcuble.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described the decision to close it as \u2018disgraceful\u2019 and slammed the trust for making it without consulting staff and patients.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hospital bosses say the decision was taken after a ‘detailed review'(Image: Vincent Cole – Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

The trust says the decision was taken after a \u2018detailed review\u2019 and have cited \u2018significant\u2019 running costs and \u2018estate, compliance and operational pressures\u2019 as being among the reasons for it.<\/p>\n

Keith says there are private hydrotherapy pools in the region but that his research has shown these require an assessment costing around \u00a385 and then around \u00a325 per session, compared to just \u00a37 at Stepping Hill, which is \u2018too much\u2019 for him and likely out of the budgets of other patients.<\/p>\n

He has regained the ability to walk again, but still requires the use of a walking aid and sometimes a wheelchair, and Keith fears his recovery will be \u2018seriously slowed down\u2019 as a result of the move.<\/p>\n

The trust says all patients will \u2018supported to transition to alternative rehabilitation support, self-management, community-based options or discharge\u2019 depending on patient\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Keith fears his recovery will now be ‘slowed down'(Image: Submitted)<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate it won\u2019t be cheap to heat the pool and run it\u201d Keith said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s a cost worth bearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t put into words the difference it has made to me and I know I\u2019m not alone. I know people who travel on two or three buses to get here. It\u2019s also not just outpatients but inpatients as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a financially driven decision which has been made by people who are only thinking of the bottom line. They have likely never used one so don\u2019t fully understand it and the difference it can make.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has contacted his MP Lisa Smart as part of his bid to persuade the trust to reverse their decision.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the trust said: \u201cFollowing a review of clinical need, best practice guidance and sustainability, our hydrotherapy unit will close on 30 September 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients will continue to receive support through alternative evidence-based rehabilitation pathways.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we recognise hydrotherapy has been valued by many, our priority is to provide rehabilitation services that are safe, effective, clinically appropriate and sustainable for the wider patient population.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keith Wardle has hit out at bosses at Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport 05:46, 09 Jul 2026Updated 07:15,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,2281,104,2205,158399,2443,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-682085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-health-and-fitness","tag-nhs","tag-real-life","tag-stepping-hill-hospital","tag-stockport","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}