Wagga Arthritis Association has blasted Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) for its new deal with Calvary to allow use of its facility in lieu of closing down the community-funded pool in the next fortnight.

But Wagga Health Service general manager Denis Thomas defended the decision as a cost-efficient option for the ageing hospital pool.

Association president Lorraine Thomas said the group currently has access to therapy at the hospital pool four times a week at a cost of $55 per session, regardless of how many participants. 

Under the new deal, the group will only have access twice a week at Calvary. Mrs Thomas described the decision as disappointing, but conceded the new fixed cost of $6 per person was “a bonus”. 

Calvary will charge MLHD $60 per hour-long session and MLHD will then offset the cost of individual users. 

“It will hurt us because some people use it for instant pain relief at least four times a week,” Mrs Thomas said. “Depending on when sessions are, people might not be able to get there.”

The agreement will only open access of Calvary’s facility to current user groups of the hospital hydrotherapy pool and the “relatively small number of inpatients” who use it.

Mr Thomas confirmed inpatients would be transferred to Calvary by the centre’s patient transfer service at no added cost. 

“We're trying to consolidate the sessions so we can have a reasonably cost-effective arrangement for both the users and for us,” Mr Thomas said. “We are going to subsidise those sessions so that users will only pay $6 each per one-hour session and each session can accommodate up to six people.”

Pool campaigners have questioned why the hydrotherapy pool was not included in the recent $282 million hospital redevelopment. 

Mr Thomas confirmed the pool has not been included in stage three of the hospital redevelopment.

"The pool is 20-something years old and has served the community well, but it is getting old … and it’s in the way, if you like, of the overall development of the site,” Mr Thomas said. 

Pool campaigner Karenne Connors told the Advertiser the decision was “a great loss for the community, but continuing access for hydrotherapy is important”.