An event at Westminster last month saw the launch of the inaugural National Drowning Report from the Water Safety All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) authored by the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), and supported by the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF).
The report highlighted some shocking statistics relating to the number of accidental fatalities in 2022, with a section of the report focusing on child drownings.
The report showed that in 2022, 35 children died from accidental drowning, the equivalent of more than a classroom of children. Comparing this to the 5-year average, there was a huge 46% increase in the number of accidental fatalities amongst children in 2022.
The report documents that in 2022, 226 people lost their lives to accidental drowning, with 83% of those being male.
We have already seen a number of people tragically lose their lives to accidental drowning in 2023 and the report looks to provide recommendations for the UK Government to how this can change.
Lee Heard, Charity Director at RLSS UK, commented “We know that for anyone to drown is a complete tragedy, but when we see the amount of children drowning increasing by 46% we know that things need to change urgently.
“Within the report, we have worked with various organisations to put forwards a number of key recommendations for the UK Government to enable all young people to have the opportunity to learn about water safety.
“We want the UK Government to find innovative solutions to better deliver school swimming; mandate that every child has a class-based water safety lesson at each key stage; and to invest in initiatives to address the increase in child drowning fatalities.
“Drowning, for the large part, is highly preventable. Education and supervision in particular reduce the likelihood of an incident turning into a sudden and devastating tragedy.
“We have been asking the question of the UK Government for many years as to why classroom-based water safety is not on the curriculum.
“We recognise that getting all our children in the water is critical but teaching water safety in the classroom removes existing barriers and gives every child an understanding of safety, risk, and the chance to learn how to stay safe in and around the water, no matter their background.”
“This report is a step in the right direction to give MPs and the UK Government the facts and statistics they need to make a change to prevent losing even more children to accidental drowning. We at RLSS UK will work with our partners and the National Water Safety Forum to endeavor to deliver the necessary change.”
The launch of the report coincided with RLSS UK’s annual Drowning Prevention Week campaign where the charity was able to educate over 1.8million children through its free resources to schools and leisure centres.
Residents fromStrachan House care home in Blackhall hit the road and made some surprise visits to its local emergency service responders this week, armed with goodie boxes and letters of appreciation for everything they do.
It comes as the 999 emergency number reached its 86th birthday on the 30th June.
The care home staff and residents took to the roads and visited police, fire and ambulance in the Blackhall area to show their appreciation for everything our heroes do in our hour of need when the well-known number is dialled.
Drylaw police officers, Telford Road fire station and paramedics at the Western General were all very surprised when they received our hampers of thanks!
Mandy Burgen, Head of Wellbeing and Lifestyle for Strachan House, said: “Behind every emergency number dialled it’s important to know there is a team of people who respond without hesitation. It has been an honour for staff and residents to deliver these boxes of goodies to say thank you.
“Our local emergency services do so much, so to surprise them with a little gift of kindness was amazing. Our residents loved being able to say thank you, as well as meet and chat with local police, fire personnel and paramedics”
Louise Abraham, a resident at the home, said: “It was lovely to be able to meet so many of our emergency services and show our appreciation for all their hard work they do.”
Strachan House has built up excellent reputations within its local community, regularly holding community events and activities for residents and surrounding neighbours.
Gordon Philp, General Manager at Strachan House said: “We are always keen to show as much support as we can to our local services and 999 day was the perfect day to demonstrate how much appreciate all their hard work and dedication”.
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
Councils have new powers to reduce the negative impact of fireworks
From today (Thursday June 22), councils can designate Firework Control Zones that would make it a criminal offence to ignite a firework, or knowingly throw a lit firework in a zone which can include private properties or gardens.
The maximum penalties are a fine of up to £5,000 or up to six months in prison.
Organised public firework displays will still be permitted within Zones to allow people to enjoy fireworks safely.
The provisions are one of the key measures from the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.
Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown said: “Evidence and engagement with communities shows strong public support for tougher action on fireworks, which along with other pyrotechnic articles can cause harm, serious injury and distress to people, pets and the wider community.
“Giving local authorities additional powers to create Firework Control Zones, with input from the local community, marks a significant step in tackling the issues caused by fireworks, which are dangerous when used inappropriately.
“This change to the law demonstrates our absolute commitment to further improve public safety and wellbeing for our communities.”
Police Scotland Chief Inspector Nicola Robison said: “Fireworks Control Zones allow local authorities the power to designate areas where fireworks cannot be possessed or set off and ultimately restricts the improper use of such items in Scotland.
“It is a criminal offence to be in possession of, or setting off, fireworks within a Fireworks Control Zone and I would urge all members of the public to be aware of designated zones within your local area to ensure you are not in breach of the legislation.
“Police Scotland is committed to keeping the public safe from the risk of harm associated with the reckless and criminal use of fireworks and we welcome the addition of Fireworks Control Zones within Scotland.”
Review Group member, and Director of Innovation and Strategic Relations at the Scottish SPCA, Gilly Mendes Ferreira said: “We warmly welcome introduction of Firework Control Zones.
“The restrictions are much needed to prevent unnecessary suffering among pets, farm animals and wildlife.
“They will help to alleviate distress caused by fireworks and also prevent any firework debris that can be harmful to, or ingested by, animals.”
Plans for how over £500,000 for park and open space lighting improvements across the city have been approved by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Committee.
A prioritisation framework has been developed to identify where lighting improvements could benefit the city’s parks and open spaces for further assessment. The ranking comprises 58 sites across the city with Hailes Quarry Park considered first for developing a detailed lighting design.
In recent years, requests for park lighting have increased. This is in part due to increased numbers of people having enjoyed opportunities for exploring local parks and open spaces during the pandemic, as well as improving safety within and through parks, particularly for women and young girls who often feel most at risk at night when walking alone in or near open spaces.
The proposed framework follows an audit of the formal paths used for walking, wheeling, and cycling across city greenspaces. The endorsed priority listing will determine the order in which lighting projects in parks and open spaces will be further developed.
Through the councillors’ agreement to allocate this funding, it is hoped the new lighting in these popular areas can help reassure park users and encourage people to visit or travel through parks and open spaces.
However, there are additional considerations to be taken in parks compared to streets and roads as lighting outdoor space has to combine technical solutions with the unique features of green space environments. This can include supporting valuable habitats for wildlife, trees, historic buildings and monuments, as well as spaces for events, sport, active travel routes and traffic-free places.
Each of the proposed lighting designs must also consider improving lines of sight, proximity of entrances and exits, vegetation overgrowth, use of the space, and the importance of routes to local communities.
In order to meet the full plans, match funding will be sought to supplement the Council’s allocation.
The first 10 sites identified for improvements are:
Hailes Quarry Park (Sighthill/Gorgie)
Gyle Park (Drum Brae/Gyle)
Hunter’s Hall Park (Portobello/Craigmillar)
Ferniehill Community Park (Liberton/Gilmerton)
Roseburn Park (Corstorphine/Murrayfield)
Calton Hill (City Centre)
Princes Street Gardens (City Centre)
Harrison Park (Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart)
Leith Links (Leith
Pilrig Park (Leith Walk).
Culture and Communities Convener Councillor Val Walker, said: “In Edinburgh we’re extremely fortunate to have nearly 200 parks and open spaces to visit across the city and we want to make sure that they all remain accessible, safe, sustainable and of course open to the public for generations to come.
“Post-pandemic our parks and open spaces throughout the city have increased even further in popularity and continue be essential to modern life in the capital. They also provide havens for wildlife as well as important routes for people to move around the city by cycle and on foot.
“However, for many, these can be unwelcoming places, especially after dark, when fear of crime and concerns for personal safety are heightened. We of course recognise the community’s concerns and the need for these spaces to be safe and accessible for all users so I’m delighted that we are able to progress with illuminating existing paths in many of our parks and open spaces. We know where the first changes will be made but I hope through match funding we can roll these improvements out further across the city.
“We must also of course consider getting the right balance for needs of people and wildlife and steps will be taken to ensure the new lighting is not at the expense of biodiversity.”
Following Thursday’s approval, work will commence on the design of the first scheme for Hailes Quarry Park. Each lighting project in turn will include public engagement in the design process.
All active crews at the Scottish Ambulance Service have now been trained to supply life-saving Take Home Naloxone (THN) kits.
Following the completion of the two year naloxone training programme, launched in 2021, 2333 Take Home Naloxone kits (THN) have been distributed by crews.
These Naloxone kits, which reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, have been distributed by ambulance clinicians to people at risk of a non-fatal overdose or potential future overdose. They have also been provided to family, friends and service workers who may have to administer naloxone in the future, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
The successful roll-out of the training programme to distribute the kits has been led by three Clinical Effectiveness Leads for Drug Harm Reduction, covering the North, East and West regions. They have been funded by the Drug Deaths Taskforce, an extension of the Scottish Government’s existing Naloxone Programme.
Over the last two years, SAS has increased its partnership working with health boards and drug treatment and support services, as engagement with these services is a proven protective factor in reducing drug deaths. By creating alternative pathways, patients will receive a referral to follow up after their emergency presentation, to ensure they receive further appropriate care.
A booklet for call handers in SAS’s Ambulance Control Centres has also been developed, which provides an index for common drug terms. This booklet, created in partnership with Public Health Scotland – RADAR, can help call handlers better identify the needs of the patient when taking 999 calls.
Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We’re proud to have reached our target of training up our operational staff in being able to supply Take-Home Naloxone.
“Our crews offer a frontline service where they reach into vulnerable communities across Scotland, and this targeted distribution will ensure Naloxone will get into the hands of those who need it most.
“Over the last two years, our three Clinical Effectiveness Leads for Drug Harm Reduction have made huge strides to effect positive change within patient care, and access to treatment for those affected by their use of drugs. This is helping to meet our aims of positively improving health and wellbeing across Scotland.”
Drugs Policy Minister Angela Constance said: “Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce a national Naloxone programme and increasing its provision and availability has been a key priority in our national mission to help save lives.
“We know that having naloxone available can and does save lives and maximising its availability is a key part of our work to reduce drug related deaths in Scotland.
“The extent of the use of naloxone to prevent deaths illustrates the size of the challenge but also the ambition of the response, including from crucial partners like the Scottish Ambulance Service.
“We’re focused on supporting those affected by problem substance use, delivering real change on the ground and implementing evidence-based approaches we know can help save lives. We will continue to prioritise the distribution of naloxone and to work with partners, such as the SAS, to ensure that this important work continues and that we can continue to provide support to people at a time of crisis.”
A successful campaign to reduce street drinking and disorder will be rolled out to more towns and cities across Scotland.
The “It’ll Cost You” campaign to deter adults buying alcohol for minors was developed by the Scottish Alcohol Industry Partnership (SAIP), Police Scotland and Community Alcohol Partnerships. It ran throughout the summer of 2022 and was the first time the campaign had been delivered nationally.
The campaign was a mix of social and traditional media and direct consumer engagement in targeted areas across Scotland.
Asking an adult to buy alcohol for under 18s is one of the most common tactics used by young people to access alcohol. The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 states that it is an offence for a person to “act as an agent for a child in purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol”. This is also known as proxy purchase.
An evaluation of the summer 2022 campaign showed it was an effective way to communicate the consequences of buying alcohol for minors and demonstrated the benefits of partnership working between retailers and Police Scotland.
Community Alcohol Partnerships will also utilise the campaign in areas where it operates in Scotland to help reduce alcohol harm among children and young people.
Superintendent Hilary Sloan, Police Scotland, said: “We welcome the evaluation report into last summer’s It’ll Cost You proxy purchasing campaign.
“Protecting vulnerable people is one of our top priorities and this includes protecting young people from the associated risks of alcohol. We know that vulnerability increases when alcohol is a factor and this vulnerability is heightened in young people.
“This campaign showcases the benefits of key partners working together and utilising each other’s resources to inform the public of dangers associated with underage drinking, as well as the criminal consequences for supplying those under 18 with alcohol. Proxy purchasing is an offence, which can result in a fine, a prison sentence, or both. Please do not risk it.
“I look forward to continued working with our partners to build on the campaign’s success in 2023”
Luke McGarty, Chair of the SAIP Campaigns Group and Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish Grocers Federation said:“We welcome the publication of the evaluation report and the key learnings from delivering the “It’ll Cost You” campaign nationally for the first time.
“Reducing underage drinking and anti-social behaviour linked to alcohol is one we support and ties in with SGF’s position of promoting responsible community retailing. We will continue to work with the campaign going forward.”
Graham Clarke, Community Alcohol Partnership Advisor for Scotland, said: “Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP) was delighted to be a partner in the “It’ll Cost You” campaign and to support activity in each of our CAP areas.
“The campaign gave CAP an opportunity to carry the “It’ll Cost You” resources and messaging in local communities, highlighting the dangers of buying alcohol for young people. We worked closely with Police Scotland and the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers to make sure that this messaging was carried through all our engagement activity and look forward to supporting the campaign again in 2023.”
Community Safety Minister Elena Whitham MSP said: “The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of the evaluation report. We remain committed to protecting young persons and children from harm.
“Underage drinking can cause short and long-term harm to health and put young persons in dangerous situations when drunk. Purchasing alcohol for someone under 18 is a criminal offence, and we were pleased to support collective efforts to help reduce the attempted purchase of alcohol for those underage.
“The 2022 National campaign illustrated the value of strong collaboration and regular engagement between partners, which helped to deliver shared aims to help reduce underage drinking and anti-social behaviour as a key step to help keep communities safe.”
A copy of the Evaluation report can be found here.
The bodies say interfering with electricity and gas meters can have a “disastrous effect” on perpetrators and innocent people nearby – and have urged anyone coming across tampering to report it and avert disaster.
In a joint statement, Alan Wilson, Managing Director of SELECT, and Fiona Hodgson, Chief Executive of SNIPEF, said: “It is a distressing sign of the times that an increasing number of consumers are resorting to tampering with their electrical and gas meters in an effort to reduce their energy bills.
“Stealing energy in this way is a worrying and illegal practice, often encouraged by widely shared footage on social media. But it risks lives and can have fatal consequences for innocent people close by.
“Such services are often offered by unscrupulous individuals who will bypass services or devices for a fee. But often the methods they use are often extremely dangerous and they can have no, or very limited, knowledge of what they’re doing.
“Like all gas and electrical work, interrupting the supply is something that should only ever be dealt with by fully-trained and qualified professionals.
“We are urging all householders and tradespeople to immediately contact the relevant energy company if they suspect meter tampering has occurred.”
Sean Smith, Fire Investigation Officers Watch Commander with SFRS, said: “SFRS is now seeing meter tampering and removal services with increasing frequency and, sadly, we have first-hand experience of the tragic circumstances that they can cause.
“We are now engaging with communities to discourage this dangerous act and make people aware of the significant risks from energy theft and meter tampering.”
The renewed alert follows a warning last year from energy regulator Ofcom, who flagged the danger of social media posts claiming gas and electricity meters could be removed as an “energy-saving hack”.
It also coincides with the current high-profile Stay Energy Safe campaign from Crimestoppers, urging contractors and consumers to contact them anonymously at 0800 023 2777 if they think a meter has been tampered.
Following the tragic incident that happened at Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull over the weekend, there has been an outcry of support to increase education and knowledge related to water safety.
The team at the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) has picked up a long list of national, regional and local media engagements and there has been a consistent question that has come from journalists – Why are so many school children lacking essential water safety knowledge?
This has been supported with reminiscing about former approaches through public information films and broadcasts. The reality is that the technology and media landscape has changed so much. Whilst at one time posting some content, on TV, at 4pm in the afternoon would reach a large proportion of children there is now so much choice for children and young people, and it has become extremely difficult to guarantee maximum reach.
The question though is not a question for RLSS UK but a question that needs to be posed to government and this blog explains more …
Lee Heard, Charity Director at RLSS UK, praises the work of the emergency services, who the charity works closely with to share crucial messaging around water safety, but asks what more can be done to keep children safe:
“What is guaranteed is that the majority of children can be reached through the education system. The answer on keeping children safe around water is simple. Education. Only with class-based education and removing insurmountable barriers for some schools to travel to pool spaces will we be able to give every child the opportunity to learn crucial knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and be safe around water.
For many years, we at RLSS UK have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of barriers and lobby to try and push forwards with getting class-based water safety education on the national curriculum. It should not take yet another tragedy, and even more innocent young lives lost, to have to put the case forwards once again.
If you speak to Government about this subject they will provide rhetoric and spin. It is positive that in the national curriculum for England that swimming and water safety are included on the PE curriculum but for too many years now this has been used to mask inherent inadequacies and inequalities in their policy position on water safety. Pre-COVID, almost 1 in 4 children (24% of) were not hitting the statutory ‘can self-rescue’ standard. Worryingly there is huge disparity between high and low affluence households, as well as between different ethnic backgrounds, with those from the lowest affluence and those from ethnic minorities most likely to fail to reach the statutory standards.
Fig 1: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 3-11) who do not meet statutory ‘self-rescue’ standards by family affluence (2017/18).
Fig 2: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 3-11) who do not meet statutory ‘self-rescue’ standards by ethnicity (2017/18).
This uneven playing field is well known and RLSS UK has been asking questions of Government since 2017 about reviewing its approach to ensure equal access. This has been followed up by a petition by water safety campaigner and bereaved parent Becky Ramsey who sadly lost her son Dylan Ramsey to drowning in 2011. The petition received over 108,000 signatures. The Government responses indicated no desire to change its approach, instead included a list of approaches and highlighting the hard work of other organisations who have no statutory responsibility. It is worth reiterating that even pre-COVID those from white, affluent families were much more likely to have access to this lifesaving education, proof that the approaches were not working.
The fact is that charities, individuals, organisations and schools who believe in increasing water safety knowledge have been working tirelessly to fill this gap. RLSS UK is not alone, there are incredible organisations doing great work locally and nationally and work is supported by the National Water Safety Forum. We personally have produced resources year after year for our Drowning Prevention Week (DPW) campaigns during the summer months, and these are always widely used by many schools across the UK and Ireland, but this is not enough and we cannot, even across partners, educate everyone alone.
In 2022 during DPW, over 1.2m million children were educated using our free water safety resources but there are over 10.6 million school aged children in the UK. So ,what about those 9.4 million children? Would they know how to stay safe around water? Would they know what to do if they got into difficulty or saw someone in trouble? Or will we see even more sad news in the years that follow? We have the resources, and we have the knowledge to share but only 1 in 5 children have had water safety education in school in the last year. We have to ask why there is resistance to make this small change to include a short class-based water safety lesson on the curriculum?
The current situation is much worse, there has been an obvious decline in attainment since COVID. Of course, a global pandemic has presented it challenges but the worrying fact is that in many cases, this decline was seen in 20/21 and is not showing signs of recovery. The most recent data shared through the 2022 Active Lives Survey shows that only 34.7% of children from low affluence families are able swim 25m unaided. This means that children from low affluence families are half as likely (34.7%) to be able to swim 25m unaided than those from high income families (76.4%).
Fig 3: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 1-11) who can swim 25m unaided standards by family affluence (2021/22).
Fig 4: The proportion (%) of UK children (years 1-11) who can swim 25m unaided standards by ethnicity (2021/22).
The Government seems content that 80% of schools surveyed are currently offering school swimming, the detail shows a very different picture and says a lot about the acceptance of achievements against pre-set outcomes and standards.
The barriers for some schools are simply insurmountable for a number of reasons. The further backdrop is that there are real and perceived barriers for schools to access swimming spaces. The future landscape is due to make this more challenging, we already know that in 2022 there has been a 5.1% decrease in swimming facilities and UK Active has recently reported that 40% of council areas are at risk of losing their leisure centre(s) or seeing reduced services at their leisure centre(s) before 31 March 2023.
We know that swimming and water safety is already on the national curriculum, but we also know that unfortunately this isn’t a successful policy to meet the Government’s own stated outcomes. Water safety goes hand-in-hand with swimming. We will always advocate for swimming as a life and water skill but our research shows that swimming is quite simply not enough. In our analysis of 83 accidental drownings of 8–18-year-olds in the UK, 3 in 5 (61%) were described as swimmers by their friends and family. This data suggests that being able to swim alone isn’t a guarantee of staying safe in, on and around water.
We have lesson plans which can be incorporated into existing lessons such as English, Maths, Science and more, for all age groups from early years to primary, to secondary school students. We want to be proactive when educating children on water safety, not reactive when we hear of a tragedy like we saw in Solihull at the weekend.
For this to change we need support from the very top. We need the Government to accept and acknowledge that:
Its approach isn’t working for all of our communities and to acknowledge
One drowning or water related death is one too many, and
Each accidental drowning can be avoided by education that doesn’t require huge investment in time or finances to take pupils to a pool.
We are calling on the government to make a change; to finally put water safety education on the class-based curriculum, to give every single child the chance to know how to stay safe in and around water, to ensure that families don’t have to go through the heartache that so many have already endured and to simply care for our children and their futures.
As temperatures in Scotland head in a downward trajectory, Water Safety Scotland (WSS) is issuing a warning about the dangers that frozen-over water bodies present.
WSS aims to prevent needless deaths and accidents, and also to alert the public that the majority of the ice-related incidents involve children or dog walkers.
Jen Foley from Water Safety Scotland, said:“We encourage people to get out and about to enjoy frosty walks in the crisp cold air, but ice-related drownings are entirely and easily preventable.
“Frozen water can look tempting, but there is just no way of knowing whether it will hold your weight or how deep the water is beneath. We are urging people to keep themselves and their children off of frozen water, as well as keeping their dogs on leads.
“If dog-walkers don’t wish to keep their dogs on leads, then we advise keeping ball- or stickthrowing to areas away from frozen water. Tragically, many past incidents have involved attempted rescues of another person or dog in trouble on or in frozen water.”
If you do encounter someone who has fallen through ice:
Call the emergency services by dialling 999
The emergency services will need to know where you are. Accurate information can
save precious minutes. If you have a smart phone and have location services or map
tool enabled, this can help. If not look around for any landmarks or signs – for
example bridges will often have numbers on them which can identify their location
Do not attempt to go out on to the ice yourself
Tell the person to stay still to maintain heat and energy
Try finding something which will extend your reach, such as a rope, pole or branch
Throw the object out and, once ensuring you are stable on the bank either by lying
down or having someone hold on to you, pull them in
If you cannot find something to reach with, try finding an object that will float and
push that out to them
Ensure that you keep off the ice at all times during the rescue, continue to reassure
the casualty and keep them talking until help arrives
Once the person has been rescued, keep them warm and take them to hospital even if they appear to be unaffected
As well as frozen-over water, WSS also want to urge the public to be aware of icy conditions which can make surfaces slippery and unstable, meaning the likelihood of slips, trips and falls is increased.
Take extra caution when visiting coastlines and walking near cliff edges as icy conditions will make surfaces slippery.
Three boys died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull on Sunday afternoon (11 December).
The boys, aged 11, 10 and 8 were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water. Sadly, they could not be revived. A fourth boy, aged 6, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
