Holiday Pool Drowning Accidents

I know my last blog was about secondary drowning and water safety water but the tragic news that 5 year old Chloe Johnson drowned in a hotel swimming pool in Sharm-el-Sheik has highlighted just how dangerous water can be for young children. We are coming into holiday season now and we all need to be extra vigilant with children and water. 

Each year millions of Brits go abroad for their summer holidays and stay in hotels or Villas. Swimming is one of the main activities but not all pools are that safe. More than half of the victims of drowning on holidays are under 4 years old.

  As a parent we  need to be extra vigilant with our  children. Many hotels do not have lifeguards on duty and those that do tend to see their role more of handing out beach towels than constant pool safety supervision. Do not leave young children to be supervised by other slightly older children. I have a very good friend, who when she was 9 years old her mother left her with her brother who was 5. He drowned and although the mother never blamed my friend I think it is something she has carried with her all her life.

When my three children were all under 7 we holidayed in a hotel in Spain.  Albeit this was a long time ago but I was appalled by the state of the swimming pool. I complained to the tour operator  both when we were there and when we returned.  Not only was it unsafe with no shallow end despite it being a children's holiday destination, there was no lifeguard supervision and it was also filthy!

At home if we take our children to the local swimming pool and   somehow we instinctively know that we must watch them at all times but when we go on holiday I think that perhaps we get into holiday mode and are a bit more carefree.  Holiday pool drowning  apparently tend to happen most on the first and last day of  a holiday because  parents may be less vigilant because of distractions surrounding arrival at the holiday destination and packing up to go home. Children  are excited and keen to explore and may easily slip away.

This also goes for Villas with pools.  You need to ensure that when you hire your Villa that there is a fence around the pool and there is a shallow end for young children with easy access. I have stayed in Villas before where the pool is completely unsuitable for young children and wish I had asked more questions before I booked. 

Should you ever have to deal with a drowning it is incredibly important that you start CPR immediately (for  CPR training  go to www.safeandsound.uk.net) and do not stop until help arrives - as I pointed out in my last posting you can keep a young child or baby alive for much longer than an adult by giving CPR. You only stop when help arrives or you are too exhausted to carry on.

Below is some information I hope you find of interest from RoSPA.

Key facts are supplied by Rospa

Toddlers (0 - 3 years) - Two to three years are most at risk. In many cases the toddler wandered away from parents and fell into an unsupervised pool.

Young children (4-5 years) – Some drownings happened after the child was last seen playing in the water, or playing near to water. In many cases parents were unaware of the problem until the child was found in the water (most commonly a hotel swimming pool).

Older children (6-9 years) - In all of these cases the children were swimming.

Parental supervision - Drowning children don’t cry out for help and wave to be rescued - they disappear under the surface – often unseen and unheard. Adults need to be vigilant whenever a child is in or near a pool.

Lifeguards - Many hotel pools will not have lifeguards on duty. Of those that do have lifeguards – their roles are often combined with other duties. Many pools will have ‘pool attendants’ who give out towels and make sure the site is clean. Their main response is usually after the event has happened as opposed to the UK where a lifeguard’s main role is focused to prevent incidents occurring before the event.

Holiday villas - If you book a private property – you will have to be the lifeguard. A number of holiday pool drownings have occurred in villas during the evening (or early morning) where the child has gone outside without their parent’s knowledge and ended up in the pool. It is impossible to be awake and supervise all the time. Check to see if your villa has safety barriers (permanent or otherwise) that will stop young children from getting into the pool without your help.

Key points for parents to consider

Before you go:

· Check the safety arrangements in advance

· Teach children never to swim alone

· Be cautious about booking villas that do not have safety fencing

· Take a first aid course – know how to resuscitate a child

· Ask your travel company if the hotel pool has a lifeguard

When you are there:

· Actively supervise all young children near water

· Choose pools that are fenced with locking gates

· Even if a pool has a lifeguard – know where your children are, and what they are doing in the water

· Let children take swimming classes whilst on holiday – they are a great way of gaining water confidence and learning essential water safety skills

· Inflatables are not a substitute for supervision or swimming ability

Rules for children:

· Water safety rules for children

· Never swim alone

· Do not dive into unknown depths of water, and only jump feet first into water

· Do not push or jump onto others

· Know where to get help in an emergency