Charity backs water safety calls
Lifesaving group wants more to be done after increase in drownings
A leading drowning prevention charity has backed calls for more to be done to teach children about the dangers of cold water shock following a sharp rise in the number of drownings.
The Royal Lifesaving Society UK (RLSS) say water safety educationshouldbemandatory in Scotland - like it is in England - and believe children are not aware enough of the dangers of open water.
It has backed a move by the Local Government Association (LGA) in England and Wales to teach children about cold water shock – a leading cause of death in many drownings – which can increase a person’s breathing tenfold, leading to a feeling of panic and possible cardiac arrest.
Campaigners have recently called for a notorious quarry pond in Fife to be drained after schoolteacher Kelda Henderson died while scuba diving last week.
The tragedy came two years after 18-year-old John Mckay drowned at the quarry, while Cameron Lancaster, also 18, was killed after jumping into the pond the previous year.
Rlssnationaldrowningprevention co-ordinator, Kenny Macdermid, described water safety education in Scotland as “lacking” and said there was a difference between learning to swim in a heated pool and having to use the same skills in open water. He said: “When you’re young, you’re learning to swim in a pool that’s maybe 30C, but if you go into the water while you’re out, it’s likely to be a maximum of 12C at the height of summer, so you can imagine how cold it gets for the rest of the year.
“We’reteachingchildrenthat being able to swim 25-metres is going keep them safe, but that simply isn’t enough, they have to be able to take into account different environmental factors.”
The LGA are urging the government to make “near-miss” statistics from fire and rescue service data available for inclusion in the Water Incident Database, to help identify areas of high risk.
Recent RLSS figures show 52 people in Scotland were victims of accidental drownings in 2016, with 16-per-cent of those aged under 19 and a further 13-per-cent aged 20-29.
The figures also revealed 82-per-cent of accidental drowning victims were male.
Mr Macdermid added: “At the moment we’re only going to primary or secondary schools if they actively request us.”
“Usually that only happens if teacher or someone at the school has a vested interest in water safety, or more often than not if the school has been affected by a drowning, there is a certain reactive element to it.”
newsdeskts@scotsman.com