As part of our ongoing work with partner agencies to keep people safe in Edinburgh, Community Police Officers met with the RNLI yesterday to deliver a water safety event at Portobello Beach.
During the day we spoke to a large amount of beach visitors and local businesses about beach safety and how to stay safe on our coastline.
We also had the pleasure of meeting the Keep Porty Tidy lobster!
See below for some safety tips from RNLI and HM Coastguard on how to stay safe this summer:
#FloatToLive – if you find yourself in difficulty in the waterIf you fall into the water, fight your instinct to thrash around
Lean back, extend your arms and legsIf you need to, gently move them around to help you float.
Float until you can control your breathing
Only then, call for help or swim to safety.
If you are using Stand-Up Paddle Boards (SUP):
Check the water and tides before you go, if in doubt, don’t go out.Take a fully charged phone in a waterproof pouch so you can call for help if you need it.
Be equipped – wear the right gear including a flotation aid and leash.
Please don’t use inflatables at our coast, they are not designed for open water. They will quickly drift out to sea, along with those on them.
If you do choose to use them, please make sure that they are properly secured and very closely supervised. If you do get blown out to sea, stay in your inflatable and call for help.
If you get into trouble in the water or coast, don’t wait, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard and they will send help. FAST.
1.7 million adults in Scotland planning on hosting a garden party this summer
1.7 million adults in Scotland will be hosting a garden party during the summer, according to a new YouGov poll and 7 per cent intend to hire a bouncy castle for their event – meaning as many as 120,000 inflatables will be in use in private gardens, yet new research has also revealed that one in three (32 per cent) of bouncy castle operators are not up-to-date with inflatable inspections after the lockdown.
The research, released by the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII) – an international body for training inflatable inspectors and operators – and national inflatable inspection scheme PIPA – also reveals that 31 per cent of adults in Scotland don’t know what to ask regarding the safety of the bouncy castle at the point of booking one.
Yet despite this, almost one in 10 (9 per cent) of adults have witnessed an accident or injury on a bouncy castle, many of which could be prevented.
The RPII and PIPA have joined forces to launch a new campaign called #BounceSafe, supported by singer and mum-of-two Suzanne Shaw, which aims to get parents and those booking inflatables to take the appropriate safety steps to help ensure safe usage during this summer surge, and reduce the number of accidents and injuries.
Suzanne Shaw, singer and mum said: “After the year we have all had, it’s not a surprise to see millions of people will be hosting garden parties and what better way to entertain the kids than with a bouncy castle.
“I’m supporting the #BounceSafe campaign to send an important message to parents and those hiring the inflatables at-home to please make sure they ask the right questions when they hire and follow the safety advice on the day to help reduce the number of accidents. We all have a role to play in keeping the kids bouncing safe and it’s so important to supervise the inflatable at all times.”
The campaign is calling for people who hire bouncy castles for at-home use to do three things:
Ask the 3 key questions of the operator at the point when they hire – Do you have a PIPA tag and number, are you insured and have you done the RPII operator training during the last 3 years?
Supervise the bouncy castle at all times once the operator leaves a private at-home event.
Follow simple safety advice during the event and brief users about the rules before they go on.
When it comes to supervision, 82 per cent of all adults in Scotland do not know that if they have hired the bouncy castle, they are fully and legally responsible for the safety of the children on it when the operator leaves the event whilst one in five (20 per cent) have witnessed bouncy castles being completely unsupervised while children are on it.
The inflatables industry has been hit hard during the COVID pandemic. The RPII’s research reveals that 56 per cent of operators have suffered financially with 70 per cent having to temporarily close the business, 24 per cent furlough staff and 50 per cent adapt their business model over the last 12 months. The research also reveals the support from the public for the industry as one in seven (15 per cent) want to support their local inflatables business after the lockdown.
Matthew Sweed, Technical Director of Inflatables at the RPII, said: “We are launching our #BounceSafe campaign today to help keep children all over the UK bouncing safely this summer and reduce the number of accidents and injuries.
“By following some simple safety advice, everyone can play an important part in the safe hiring and safe usage of inflatables. As part of the campaign we are also urging all inflatable operators to ensure their castles are up to date with their annual inspection and that operators have also participated in our operator training programme during the last 3 years.”
And when attending a garden party with a bouncy castle, 25 per cent said there were too many children on the bouncy castle at any one time and a quarter (24 per cent) said they saw children climbing on the bouncy castle walls which is the most common cause of accidents.
Sweed continued: “It’s really important that those hiring the inflatable supervise the users at all times after the operator leaves. We know it’s something not all parents are aware of, but it has a huge impact on accident rates.“
As part of the #BounceSafe campaign, the RPII is launching a new digital training programme for all bouncy castle operators which they can complete online and a new website for hirers to access simple safety information – www.bouncesafe.org.uk.
