Date Published: 22/07/2021
ARCHIVED - Assisted bathing services finally available on three Cartagena beaches
ARCHIVED ARTICLE Assisted bathing services for bathers with limited mobility in the Cartagena municipality are given the green light
After a prolonged absence caused principally by the Covid pandemic, assisted bathing services have returned to the municipality of Cartagena on the beaches of San Ginés de La Azohía,
Playa Honda on the north coast and Puerto Bello in
La Manga.
The aim is that people with reduced mobility can enjoy swimming in the waters of both the Mar Menor and Mediterranean with the support of two specialised staff.
The lack of services for people with disabilities, limited mobility and the elderly on the region’s beaches has been a topic of hot debate since plans for the service were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
José López said that “the beaches of Cartagena face their second summer without an assisted bathing service,” expressing his own opinion that the mayoress of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo, “who is responsible for Social Service,” is “incapable of facilitating bathing on the beaches for those who need accessible areas.”
The town hall, which had launched its beach services campaign without incuding any assisted bathing facilities, unlike smaller neighbouring municipalities with much smaller budgets who had managed to continue offering the service, has now announced that assisted bathing services will be available, free of charge, on the three designated beaches on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., until August 31.
In addition to the assisted bathing, Cartagena now has 18 adapted beaches with dedicated parking spaces (although these are always inadequate for the number of users), wooden walkways providing access to the ocean and adapted toilet facilities for those with disabilities or reduced mobility, along with special chairs which can be wheeled from the beach directly into the water.
On these beaches no dedicated support is offered other than through the Cruz Roja.
The initiative launched under the slogan "Beach for everyone" was implemented for the first time in 2019 through Famdif, supported financially by the La Caixa Bank Foundation and La Caixa, through its social action foundation, but was suspended last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, almost 300 people made use of the service, which was provided in Playa Honda and San Ginés.
Carmen Gil, the president of Famdif said that things are finally moving in the right direction since “more and more beaches have both this service and the universal accessibility necessary for people with reduced mobility to enjoy independently the Region of Murcia.”
However, she also emphasized the need for more beaches in the Region of Murcia to offer these services.
Image: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena