Bramley Baths is a not-for-profit, social enterprise run for the benefit of the local community. Serving the Bramley district and its surrounds since 1904, this Grade II Listed building is the last Edwardian bathhouse in Leeds. The Baths provide accessible, affordable and equitable services for the entire community, to combat health inequalities and address key health priorities for the Bramley and Leeds area.
The Baths team work hard to remove barriers associated with a clinical health setting, allowing the patient to prioritise and take control of their own physical health and mental wellbeing in a familiar and supportive community-based environment.
Tackling health inequalities
After the building became financially stable and community led in 2011, the Bramley Baths team focused on meeting the health and wellbeing needs of the local community. Local health data showed that the prevalent conditions for the local population were diabetes, obesity and mental health, while the ward was ranked as one of the most deprived areas in the Leeds City region.
The Bramley Baths CEO, David Wilford, identified the potential impact the Baths could have and recognised the need to secure funding to create health projects that would support the entire community.
A social prescribing pilot: ‘Bramley Apple Project’
In 2022, Bramley Baths received funding from NHS Charities Together to carry out their social prescribing pilot, ‘The Bramley Apple Project’. This saw the collaboration of Bramley Health and Wellbeing GP surgery, Bramley Elderly Action, and Bramley Baths, to provide weekly sessions for people identified by the GP that would benefit from exercise and social activities. Outcomes were extremely positive and the results of participants on the Warwick-Edinburg Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) were staggering, where 81% of participants reported improved physical health, and 61% felt happier overall.
A participant living with terminal breast cancer described her experience, “I am a lot better than I was, my breathing is better. It’s not a cure, but it helps. When I come to this (the exercise activities), I don’t think about it (the cancer). So, I suppose mentally, it’s better than being sat at home and just thinking about things.”
Supporting people shielding through the pandemic
Another social prescribing project was the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) project, designed for those who were shielding through the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was a pathway from voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE), NHS and self-referrals into the Bramley Baths offer, where a patient co-created programme offered five one-to-one sessions, followed by a complementary membership to further embed lifestyle changes. Over 70% of the participants, continued to use the facilities after their funded sessions had ended. This success was further recognised by additional funding from Leeds City Council to continue the project for another year.
Supporting schools and the community
Today, Bramley Baths provides a variety of excellent services that are accessible to the entire community. More than 1,000 children take swimming lessons a week, and more that 17 Schools bring an average of 425 children, many of whom have never been swimming. The Baths hosts 11 community groups, who otherwise would not have a venue to host their sessions, including LQBTQ+ and SEN groups. If the Baths didn’t exist, people would have to travel a least three miles to visit their nearest leisure centre, which is completely unachievable for many in the area.
Bramley Baths is now the new Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Pathfinder site for Bramley and Stanningley and it has a volunteering offer which is rapidly expanding. Many volunteers are also supporting Bramley Baths’ community garden, which offers a green space and promotes sustainability, growing varieties of produce for the community to enjoy.
Plans for the future
As a next step, the Bramley Baths team has applied for funding to support their #Morethanapool project. This aims to repair and futureproof the Grade II Listed heritage building, by completing essential restoration and renovation works and further develop its cross-sectoral health and wellbeing offer to the local communities. The #Morethanapool project will create and deliver a heritage-led arts and cultural engagement programme that will increase access to heritage for new and wider audiences in an area with limited heritage offers. It will strengthen Bramley Bath’s social prescribing work, developing further its capabilities as a community wellbeing hub.
