POOL & SPA INDUSTRY
Improving Water Safety
David Walker, Leisure Safety Manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) takes a look at safety in and around UK swimming pools and the importance of swimming as a life skill
R
oSPA have looked at the issue of drowning and water safety since the 1960s – a period in which thousands of people drowned annually – with an aim to enable a better understanding of the risks. Promoting a balanced approach to preventing drowning deaths and how best to tackle the problem has been a key issue for many years.
MANAGED SWIMMING POOLS Taking the long view, managed swimming pools are now as safe as they have ever been, and over the last 30 years they are by far the safest place to swim.
It hasn’t always been this way. RoSPA’s drowning statistics report shows that throughout most of the 1980s there was an average of 28 deaths a year in swimming pools, with a high of 49 in 1983. Post 2000, there has been an average of eight fatalities a year, with a number of these involving adults with pre-existing medical conditions. Today, the annual risk of a fatal incident involving a child under eight years old, in a pool, is one in 5.5 million, a very rare event. This is a remarkable improvement, in the region of a 90% reduction in fatal incidents. So, what were the key factors which brought about such a change? In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of issues were repeatedly raised by studies and courts, such as poor or inadequate design, unclear or inconsistent management approaches, and failures in supervision. The incidents gave rise to a renewed focus being placed on to the management of pools, leading to the introduction of Safety in Swimming Pools guidance in 1988.
Further revisions were published in 1999 and 2003. There have been challenges and controversies in recent years. The most notable of these is the ongoing challenge of managing child admission ratios. The application of the guidance to non-standard swimming pools, such as segregated sections of rivers and tidal pools, the increasingly tight financial arrangements which constrain operators and specific measures such as lifeguarding also cause debate.
40 June 2015 SPN
There are also concerns over advice given by some consultants. There needs to be clarity over what is demanded by law and what is discretionary advice. It can be all too easy in the drive to create a safer environment to forget our wider responsibilities, specifically the need to enable positive physical activity. The leisure industry, particularly through swimming, along with cycling and walking, is on the front line in the battle against sedentary lifestyles and the ill health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes and premature death.
ABLE TO SWIM?
A troubling trend which RoSPA is concerned about is that one in three children, at the age of 11, cannot meet the national swimming and water safety standard, which includes being able to swim 25 metres unaided. We are in danger of allowing a generation to grow up without the opportunity to learn a skill which will keep them healthy and potentially safer. It’s worth remembering that accidental deaths in all water have remained consistently around the 400 mark for the last decade, some 10% of these being children swimming and playing in open water.
KIDS AT HOME
Children aged four and six are most at risk of accidental drowning in the home from shallow water such as ponds, pools and baths, although these incidents are rare. Non-fatal drowning results in brain injury, which has a devastating affect both on the victim and family.
Putting an enclosure, or a fence with a safe locking gate around the pool is the best way to protect children from drowning. Covers that are designed to be “safety covers” can reduce the likelihood of drowning (but cannot necessarily eliminate the risk. Pool alarms can also be useful, but do not provide the same high level of safety, and require supervision from an adult at all times. Teaching children how to swim and about water safety is essential in preventing
drowning, as swimming skills are something that will last a lifetime.
RISKS TO ADULTS When it comes to water safety, the biggest risk to adults is falling in and being overwhelmed by cold water shock. A swimming pool is often 26-28°C, while open water is 12-15°C. The body’s reaction to cold water can be overwhelming and can cause breathing and swimming difficulties, which ultimately leads to drowning.
Learning to swim and being around water is a brilliant and life-affirming activity and we should do everything we can to ensure that no one drowns which is an achievable goal.
RoSPA 0121 248 2235
www.rospa.com
Following the drowning death of a three year old in a home pool, the Assistant Coroner for Wiltshire has written to the Government, and separately to RoSPA, requesting that a law be passed to ensure that all home pools have a lockable safety device. The use of barriers with self-locking gates that completely isolate the pool, are the most effective means of reducing drowning risk at homes with swimming pools. Demonstrated best in countries such as Australia, and France, where regulation mandates their use, or other equally effective methods. At the same time, a lack of willingness to enforce these laws and unclear advice has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of this approach. Drownings are rare in the home, but they have devastating consequence, affecting the most vulnerable. We should take this time to review what can and should be done, including the contribution a change in law could have in reducing these drownings. To this end, we are currently speaking to pool manufacturers, installers and other interested parties to hear the pool industry views.
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92