Drowning Prevention Week: 1 in 10 admit nearly drowning as UK suffers from rise in inland fatalities

14/06/19

The number of people who drowned in inland water has risen in the last year, prompting the UK’s drowning prevention charity to ramp up its efforts to cut down the number of tragedies that happen in the UK.

An independent survey carried out by Drowning Prevention Charity – The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) revealed this week that one in ten people had nearly drowned and 13% of those surveyed knew someone who had fatality drowned.

Although the number of total drownings in the UK was down in 2018, thanks in part to awareness raising campaigns such as the RLSS UK’s annual Drowning Prevention Week campaign which starts this week, a staggering 254 people drowned in rivers, quarries and lakes in 2018, compared to 242 the year before.

In a bid to cut down the number of inland-water drowning fatalities, the RLSS UK has been proactively building partnerships with organisations that could help spread their water safety messages, encouraging them to support the charity’s drowning prevention campaigns and help ensure as many people as possible receive vital, life-saving water safety advice.

Most recently, the Department for Education is supporting RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week campaign, which runs from 14th – 24th June 2019, and has been encouraging primary schools across England to teach take part and teach their pupils water safety.

Minister for Children and Families Nadhim Zawahi will be joining RLSS UK during the campaign and helping to teach water safety to pupils at a London primary school, and the charity held a parliamentary drop in session at Westminster to encourage MPs to pledge their support to drowning prevention in their constituencies.

Minister for Children and Families, Nadhim Zahawi, said:

“Starting water safety education early is crucial to help prevent accidents happening. That’s why we put a focus on swimming and water safety in the primary school curriculum and provide the £320million PE and Sport Premium to help every primary school pupil become a confident swimmer, with extra lessons for those who need them most.”

 

“Swimming is a great way to stay fit and healthy but learning to stay safe in and around water is just as important – and I encourage all schools to take advantage of the expert resources offered by the RLSS and Swim England to teach these vital skills.”

afPE’s CEO, Sue Wilkinson MBE, said:

“Swimming is an important statutory element of the National Curriculum for Physical Education. Being able to swim and having the ability to safe self rescue is a crucial life skill. afPE is pleased at the continued support from the Department for Education to improve swimming and water safety in primary schools. We would urge the sector, parents and carers and the community to support Prevention Drowning week.”

 

“Please can you help to make a difference by engaging and promoting this very important week. In addition please ensure that your child/children have an opportunity to swim, both in school and outside of school. Swimming is phenomenal for keeping active and can help to reduce and manage every day stress. afPE believes it is a fundamental entitlement for every primary aged pupil to leave school being able to swim a minimum of 25 metres and be able to carry out a safe self rescue.”

Click HERE for the full article courtesy of the RLSS.

Click HERE to find out more about Drowning Prevention Week.