Britannia Leisure Centre Enhances Emergency Response with an Integrated Safety Communication System
Britannia Leisure Centre is an award-winning public sports and community facility in Shoreditch, Hackney, operated by GLL under the Better brand. Opened in 2021, the modern centre offers a wide range of health, fitness, and wellbeing facilities, including swimming pools, a gym, fitness studios, wellness areas, sports courts, changing facilities, and community spaces, serving thousands of visitors each week. Over the past five years, Call Systems Technology (CST) has partnered with Britannia Leisure Centre, delivering and supporting an integrated safety communications solution that helps protect visitors, staff and facilities.
With multiple activity zones operating simultaneously, maintaining a consistently high standard of safety across the site presents a unique challenge. From poolside incidents and gym emergencies to sauna call points and accessible facilities, the centre required an integrated safety solution capable of delivering real-time alerts, improving staff communication, and ensuring a rapid, coordinated response across the entire facility.
The Challenge: Managing Safety Across a Complex Environment
With thousands of visitors using the centre each week across its diverse leisure facilities, rapid emergency communication is essential. Staff need to identify incidents immediately, understand their location, and coordinate an appropriate response without delay. Managing emergency alerts across different areas of the facility highlighted the need for a single, integrated platform capable of delivering immediate information and improving emergency response.
The new system needed to integrate a wide range of emergency alerts across the facility, including:
Poolside emergency call points: IP67-and IP56-rated providing reliable operation in wet environments
Emergency alerts: Wireless emergency assistance
Sauna call points: Air-operated for high-temperature environments
Disabled toilet alarms:
BS 8300-compliant wireless assistance
Underwater pool camera: Integrated with CST products receiving camera notifications
By bringing these systems together into a single integrated platform, the centre aimed to improve staff awareness, streamline communication and enable a faster, more coordinated emergency response.
Combined with GEN2 Queue’s message logging and reporting capabilities, Britannia Leisure Centre has clear visibility of system performance, routine testing and any required maintenance actions. This proactive approach provides documented evidence that safety systems are actively monitored, regularly tested and maintained, supporting a strong health and safety culture.
Rather than relying on multiple independent safety systems, GEN2 Queue brings critical alarms together into one intelligent communication platform. When an incident occurs, the system automatically identifies the alarm source and distributes notifications to monitoring displays, wireless staff pagers and visual warning devices, providing responders with the information they need to act quickly.
By combining emergency alert management with proactive system monitoring, the solution improves situational awareness, strengthens staff coordination and supports a faster, more effective response across every area of the leisure centre.
The Solution: A Fully Integrated Critical Alarm Communication Platform
To meet Britannia Leisure Centre's requirements, CST designed and implemented a fully integrated GEN2 Queue critical alarm communication platform, creating a single, centralised system for managing and distributing emergency alerts across the facility.
In addition to providing real-time emergency notifications, the platform continuously monitors the health of connected battery-powered call points and system components. Daily health checks identify the operational status of devices, including battery condition and communication status, helping ensure emergency call points remain ready for use when required.
A Connected Emergency Response Network
The GEN2 Queue system provides critical alarm management and communication for:
- Emergency call points throughout public areas
- Pool safety alerts
- Accessibility alarms
- Staff notification devices
- Visual and audible warning systems
Underwater camera alerts
By integrating these technologies into a single platform, Britannia Leisure Centre has created a connected emergency response network that gives staff greater visibility, improves communication, and reduces the risk of delayed responses.
The Results: Faster, Smarter Emergency Response
The implementation of CST’s critical alarm communication solution has transformed emergency management at Britannia Leisure Centre.
Since implementation, the integrated system has delivered:
- Immediate visibility of emergency events
- Clear identification of incident locations
- Faster communication with response teams
- Improved coordination between staff members
- Greater confidence in managing complex emergency situations
For a busy leisure facility with multiple public areas and specialist environments, this level of connectivity provides a significant improvement in operational resilience.
The Future-Proof Safety Platform
By implementing CST's GEN2 Queue critical alarm communication platform, Britannia Leisure Centre has established a flexible, scalable safety infrastructure designed to evolve alongside the facility's operational needs. The integrated system provides staff with real-time visibility of emergency events, enabling faster communication and a more coordinated response throughout the facility.
As the centre continues to welcome thousands of visitors each week, the platform can be expanded to incorporate additional safety technologies and operational requirements, ensuring it remains fit for purpose as the facility grows. With a connected emergency communication system at its core, Britannia Leisure Centre now has a future-ready safety platform that enhances operational resilience, supports staff, and helps ensure every visitor can enjoy the facility with confidence.