When talking about drowning and trying to make a distinction between those that die and those that survive following a submersion there have always been some problems associated with the language used.

There have been multiple terms associated with drowning, and different ways of describing the outcomes associated with a submersion.

In this post we will have a look at the language used, why it is used and discuss how the Samuel Morris Foundation uses the language.

Drowning

Even defining drowning has not been a clear process and until relatively recently there have been varying ways of describing it including wet drowning, dry drowning, active or passive drowning, secondary drowning or silent drowning. In fact there where over 20 different definitions associated with drowning.

At the 2002  the World Congress on Drowning a range of experts suggested a new consensus definition for drowning and they required that the new definition should include cases of both fatal and non-fatal drowning.

So now drowning is defined as a process resulting in primary respiratory impairment from submersion in a liquid medium. (and none of the terms like dry drowning, wet drowning, secondary drowning etc are used)

Simple isn’t it….

Well not quite….

So now there is the problem.. this is a nice simple medical explanation of drowning, and the reason that such a nice definition is useful is that it enables other processes, such as coding entries within hospital admission processes and it also allows researchers to draw more meaningful conclusions from pooled data and make it easier to improve injury surveillance and prevention activities.

Defining drowning outcomes

In reaching the consensus definition they also reached a consensus on  some definitions around outcomes. The outcomes of a drowning as defined above (and as described in the World Health Organisations [WHO] Policy and Practice guidelines) can be  rapid or delayed death, morbidity , or life without morbidity.

We will have a look at these below as these terms also provide some further challenges around the language that is used when we take these terms into the general public as part of education or awareness raising activities.

Drowning leading to rapid or delayed death

A rapid death after an immersion is a fairly straight forward concept to understand, but what about delayed death after a drowning?

It is our understanding that if a person dies within 24 hours then the cause of death is recorded as a “drowning”, but if a person survives beyond 24 hours then the cause of death will not be recorded as a “drowning” . It will be recorded as resulting from something like cardiac arrest or respiratory failure etc and there may or may not be a secondary code added that reflects that this primary  cause of death was subsequent to a drowning.

But what about when they don’t die within 24 hrs

As described above the medical fraternity now includes non-fatal drowning cases in the definition of drowning, but defines them by outcome, either with morbidity of without morbidity.

Understanding morbidity.

Medical dictionaries define morbidity as:

• an illness or abnormal condition or quality
• (in statistics) the rate at which an illness or abnormality occurs, calculated by dividing the number of people who are affected within a group by the entire number of people in that group
• the rate at which an illness occurs in a particular area or population.

So for the purposes of this discussion, clearly it is the first of these definitions that is in operation.

Drowning with morbidity

Many have investigated and reported on outcome and possible predictors. ^,1,2,3 However, no single system is comprehensive and there are pitfalls in the methodologies used.⁴   There are a number of researchers continuing to look at these issues.

Generally, the intuitive view stands: the shorter the submersion time and the shorter the delay to CPR, the better the outcome.

• Prognosis is ultimately related directly to the duration and magnitude of hypoxia.
• The most significant impact on morbidity and mortality occurs before arrival at hospital.
• Poor survival is associated with the need for continued cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts in hospital (35-60% die in the emergency department and 60-100% have long-term neurological sequelae).
• Even with hypothermia, intact survival of comatose patients is still quite uncommon.
• In warm water immersion, those who were not doing well at 24 hours have a poor neurological outcome.⁵

As we consistently remind people, and the reason that this foundation exists, is that according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare approximately one quarter of all people admitted to hospital following a drowning will experience what the medical fraternity calls moderate to severe sequalae, which in the case of drownings, are hypoxic brain injuries.

Drowning without morbidity

This is an interesting way to say that the casualty fully recovers. We recently posted about a number of successful outcomes and some associated issues, so we will not explore this issue here.

Non-Fatal or Near Drowning why we continue to use these terms?

The Samuel Morris Foundation is fully supportive of the need for standardised definitions, but recognise that use of standardised definitions can present some problems when discussing issues outside of the medical or academic communities.

Some will say there is no such thing as a near-drowning, you either drowned or you didn’t, and according to the consensus definition this is technically true, however the term “near drowning” was for a long time part of the accepted definitions dealing with non-fatal drowning cases and is readily found in both the medical and academic literature.

A search of the internet will also show that even among the medical fraternity and medical sites dealing with drowning there is still frequent reference to near drowning and non-fatal drowning. Almost all of the definitions and discussions using these terms clearly spell out that they are associated with surviving for more than 24 hours after a submersion.

Both of the terms Non-Fatal and Near-Drowning are used on this site, as they are on MANY sites around the world, they are used interchangeably and they are used  for a few very simple reasons…. the general public due to common usage and understanding over many years continues to associate the term “drowned” with an outcome of death and near-drowning or non-fatal drowning with an outcome of survival.

Using language like a “the child had a drowning with morbidity” is foreign language to most of the public. In public advocacy work  it is important to use language which people readily understand without having to stop and explain it (like this post does). If simple common language is not used there is a good chance that a large proportion of the any audience will stop paying attention when they encounter terms they are not familiar with or sound like jargon.

So in discussing drowning with the medical and academic fraternities we will use the precise definitions, in dealing with the public we will use language that conveys immediate understanding and attempt over time to bring the conversation and public understanding closer and closer to the medical/academic definitions.

References:

1. Zuckerman GB, Gregory PM, Santos-Damiani SM; Predictors of death and neurologic impairment in pediatric submersion injuries. The Pediatric Risk of Mortality Score. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998 Feb;152(2):134-40. [abstract]

2. Habib DM, Tecklenburg FW, Webb SA, et al; Prediction of childhood drowning and near-drowning morbidity and mortality. Pediatr Emerg Care. 1996 Aug;12(4):255-8. [abstract]

3. Oakes DD, Sherck JP, Maloney JR, et al; Prognosis and management of victims of near-drowning. J Trauma. 1982 Jul;22(7):544-9. [abstract]

4. Dueker CW; Immersion in fresh water and survival. Chest. 2004 Dec;126(6):2027-8; author reply 2028-9.

5. Bratton SL, Jardine DS, Morray JP; Serial neurologic examinations after near drowning and outcome.; Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med.1994 Feb;148(2):167-70. [abstract]

Bath time Safety - All your attention All the time!

Bathtub drowning deaths contribute to horror start to 2012

A number of recent child drowning deaths have occurred in bathtubs, contributing to the horrific start to 2012.

Two deaths in Sydney in two days

A nine month old baby died after drowning in a bathtub at Illawong in Sydneys south on Jan 14, followed by the death of a two year old in a bathtub incident in Sydney’s north on Jan 15.

Follows Victorian tragedy

These follow on from the death of nine month old in a bathtub in Ballarat Victoria at the start of January.

Bathtub drowning stats

According to Royal Life Saving   bathtub drownings claim an average of 5 Australian childrens lives every year, and 47 children are hospitalised due to bathtub near drowning incidents. One if four hospitalisations due to near drowning will result in permanent injury such as brain injury.

With three deaths already occuring in the first two weeks of 2012, we urge all parents to take care around bathtime and to follow these safety tips.

Safety tips for bathtime

• Everything ready for bathtime  – make sure you have towels, clothes etc all ready to go before putting the child into the bath
• Water kept to a minimum depth
• Cold water run first, turned off last
• Test the temperature of the water
• Keep children within arms reach
• Avoid distractions – Dont leave the bathroom to answer the phone or do other chores …even for a minute
• Never leave a child alone in a bathtub

Drowning / Near Drowning a horror start to 2012

Around the country since the start of 2012 children have lost their lives in backyard swimming pools, baths, rivers and dams around the country and there have been numerous near drowning incidents. The NSW Ambulance service alone has reported that they have responded to 54 near drowning incidents with over half of these being to children.

Some of the media coverage

Four children cheat death in backyard pool dramas

Third drowning victim in two days

Teen Student saves toddler brother

Hero girl rescues her two year old sister from drowning in backyard pool

Near drowning at public pool prompts pool safety calls

Dalby Near Drowning

Family loses a precious little boy

Media Coverage can help fuel public misconception

Media coverage surrounding most near drowning incidents is limited to a brief report stating that a child has been rescued from a pool or other water source, that cpr was commenced and the child has been transported to hospital.

If a child dies then there may be some more detailed coverage of the circumstances.

As is often the case with near drowning incidents this week a number of follow up media reports have focused on the good news of a child surviving and have told the story about how and why they survived and everyone is happy that these children have escaped their near drowning experience apparently unscathed.

However this type of follow up media coverage just seems to reinforce the public misconception that there are only two out comes:

• a child dies
• the child survives unscathed

As we continually remind people there is a third category of children after near drownings, and it those children that are left with a brain injury. For every drowning death there are at least four children admitted to hospital (and in some places such as NSW this is currently running at about 8 hospitalisations) and almost one quarter of these children will experience a brain injury that results in disabilities for life.

What is often absent from these stories are the lessons to be learned about prevention. (See the safety tips at the end of this piece) While it is an outstanding success that CPR has helped save lives this week, the reality is that the better outcome would be if the CPR was not required in the first place because other measures had prevented the child getting into these circumstances in the first place.

But it does promote some of the important messages

In all of the “good news” stories in the past week there are a couple of common elements… the child was found very quickly and CPR was successfully commenced and sustained. There is no doubt that CPR is an important element in preventing death and disability from drowning. However, as we have mentioned above, we would rather that noone had to use it for drowning related incidents because other messages had prevented the situation in the first place.

The Daily Telegraph has commenced a campaign to try and have CPR integrated into the school curriculum, see these articles

CPR campaign editorial
CPR campaign news item

Call for CPR in school curriculum

The Samuel Morris Foundation fully supports the push for this VITAL LIFE SAVING SKILL to be part of everyones education, (you can get started by viewing this video), this skill does not apply just to water related incidents… you never know where or when you may need someone who knows these skills to save YOUR life, and you never know where or when YOU knowing these skills could save someone else’s life.

A media driven campaign for pool fencing reform

What we really need is for the mainstream media to support a campaign to see the introduction of the necessary laws to help ensure that ALL pool fencing is correctly installed, maintained and regularly inspected, along with ongoing public education campaigns. Yes there will be an outcry and plenty of people complaining about “the nanny state” and people with a million excuses about why they should not have to fence their pool and it is an unfair cost… but what cost a child’s life or a child disabled for life?

Please keep kids safe around water by following these Safety Tips:

• Children aged 0-4 (or older children who cannot swim), should ALWAYS BE WITHIN ARMS REACH whenever in, on or around water.
• Children aged 5 and older, even if they are competent swimmers, should ALWAYS be under direct adult supervision whenever in, on or around water
• Children should NEVER be left alone in the bath, pool or any water source
• Whenever children are engaged in water sports activities such as boating, kayaking, rock fishing etc, they MUST wear life jackets
• At public pools remember that the staff are there for general public safety and emergencies, not as baby sitters, children MUST still be supervised by an adult (see first and second dot point as well)
• Learn first aid and CPR, circumstances this week have demonstrated the important difference that knowing these skills can make
• visit the Home Pool Safety website and the Protect Your Pool:Protect Your Kids for resources to help YOU check that YOUR pool fence is compliant with the Australian Standards TODAY
• 
  

To help us continue our education efforts and support kids left disabled by near drowning accidents.

image by BigTallGuy @ flickr

Spreading the drowning prevention message

The Samuel Morris Foundation is working with the Australian Medical Association, Royal Life Saving Society  and KidSafe and the NSW Ombudsman in a joint media event, being held at KidSafe House in the grounds of the Childrens Hospital at Westmead to promote drowning prevention messages to reduce the number of drownings in children.

Message follows release of Child Death Review Team Report

Together we are urging parents with swimming pools in their family home to check that the pool gates and fences are functioning properly. The recently released 2010 Annual Report from the NSW Child Death Review Team shows that almost half of all child deaths from drowning last year tragically occurred in the family pool.

The report found that these children were able to access the pool unsupervised due to faulty pool gates or fences and in all these cases, the gate latch mechanism had failed. Bruce Barbour, NSW Ombudsman and Convenor of the Child Death Review Team said, “As we can see from this report, the potential consequences of a faulty mechanism can be devastating but are also highly preventable. I cannot stress enough how important it is to regularly and frequently check that these safety mechanisms are functioning properly.”

Meeting the Australian Standards

Kidsafe NSW advises that current Australian Standards require all pool gates to have a self-closing mechanism, which allows the gate to return automatically to a closed position without manual force. A manual release is also required to open the gate.

The Protect Your Pool; Protect your Kids video produced in partnership with Samuel Morris Foundation, KidsHealth and the Swimming Pool and Spa Association demonstrates the common faults with pool fences, as well as clearly demonstrating what is required to meet the Australian Standards in relation to pool fencing.

Doctors Call of Parents to be vigilant

AMA (NSW) Councillor Associate Professor Brian Owler said, “It‟s the start of summer and children will be flocking to pools, both public and private, to have fun and get out of the heat. However, parents need to be aware that while they think they have taken the correct precautionary measures to keep their children safe around the family pool, the safety mechanisms themselves could be faulty.”

A/Prof Owler said, “Parents need to do regular maintenance checks of the gate latch mechanisms and remain vigilant in the supervision of their children around the family pool. In addition, the pool gate should never be propped open nor should anything climbable be placed near the pool fence for children to access.”

Reinforcing the KEEP WATCH message

The Samuel Morris Foundation has been involved in the launch of Royal Life Saving’s  Keep Watch Program over the past few years, and today the AMA, Royal Life Saving, Kidsafe, the Ombudsman and the Samuel Morris Foundation are all reinforcing the importance of the key Keep Watch Messages;

The Royal Life Saving Society‟s Keep Watch campaign highlights four key actions parents and carers should take to ensure water safety for children in varied situations:

1. Supervise – ensure your child is under your constant supervision while in, on or near water.

2. Restrict access – where possible, place a barrier between your child and the water. In the case of your backyard pool, this means the correct safety fence which completely isolates the pool and has a gate with a self-closing and manual release mechanism.

3. Water awareness – enrol your child in a water familiarisation and safety class, offered by Royal Life Saving. You can also contact your local pool for more information on swimming lessons.

4. Resuscitate – know what to do in an emergency. It is important to know basic resuscitation techniques and call „000‟ for an ambulance as soon as possible.

“Taking these key actions are crucial to ensure the water safety of your children and could mean the difference between life and death,” A/Prof Owler said. “You only need a few minutes to go down the list and check that you are taking the right precautions, including checking the function of your pool gate latch.

“Any child death is just awful, however the NSW Child Death Review Team 2010 Annual Report shows that many of these deaths – and not just those in the family pool – are in fact preventable,” A/Prof Owler said.

“It is therefore important to get the message out that we must do everything we can to minimise the risks for our children around the family home and avoid potentially life-threatening situations where possible.”

Beyond the headlines

The Samuel Morris Foundation is also urging everyone to remember that the drowning tragedy extends way beyond the headlines about death by drowning.

For every child drowning death that you hear about in NSW there are at least another 6 children admitted to hospital after a near drowning and according the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare almost one quarter of these children will experience a brain injury that leaves them with some form of disability for life.

Michael Morris (Managing Director of the Samuel Morris Foundation) said “after the headline these children are often forgotten about. but it is worth remembering that the World Health Organisation has found that the lifelong economic and health consequences of non-fatal drowning are significant and that these injuries are estimated to have the highest average lifetime cost of any injury type. They also have a great impact on families, including psychological consequences for victims, siblings, parents and other care-givers”

“the Samuel Morris Foundation is Australia’s only charity directly supporting children disabled by near drowning accidents. We would love to have the community make us redundant by eliminating drowning deaths and disabilities, but until these important drowning prevention messages are implemented by everyone in the community, we will continue to see the tragic loss of childrens lives and the devastation caused by the disabilities associated with near drownings. We urge everyone to heed to messages and to donate to help us continue to spread the message and support children and their families affected by drowning and near drowning accidents”

Kids can drown in inflatable pools too! Drowning Prevention Messages

Renewed warning on inflatable / temporary pools following near drowning – Western Sydney

Key points

• 2 year old boy hospitalised after a near drowning in Airds – Western Sydney
• Near Drowning occurs in temporary pool
• Renewed call for vigilance around requirements for fencing of inflatable /temporary pools
• Renewed call for vigilance around supervision of children

Late yesterday evening ( Just after 8pm, 1 December)  a two year old boy was found floating face down in a temporary pool in Airds (western Sydney).

After noticing the boy was missing his parents began an immediate search, finding him in the pool and then commencing CPR. The boy was transported to Campbelltown Hospital and then transferred to Sydney Childrens Hospital.

Last year the Sydney Childrens Hospital network (Sydney Childrens Hospital and Childrens Hospital at Westmead) saw the highest number of near drownings on record. Michael Morris (Samuel Morris Foundation Managing Director) said “ people do not realise that for every drowning death up to six children are admitted to hospital following near drowning incidents and almost one quarter of these children will be left with a brain injury that results in disabilities for life.

“The Samuel Morris Foundation has been working with KidSafe, the health promotion unit of the Sydney Childrens Hospital Network  to raise the awareness of the dangers of inflatable or temporary pools this summer”

“Many people do not realize that these pools require fencing in the same way as larger in-ground pools, and that they pose a significant risk of toddler drownings.

Inflatable or temporary pools are a cheap but potentially deadly…. We urge all parents to remain vigilant about supervising children in and around all water sources and we encourage any with a pool or young children to visit the following websites and watch the PROTECT YOUR POOL:PROTECT YOUR KIDS VIDEO  for information on inflatable pools and pool fencing requirements.”

http://kidshealth.chw.edu.au/projects/drowning-prevention/inflatable-and-portable-pools

http://kidshealth.chw.edu.au/projects/drowning-prevention/swimming-pool-fencing

Attached to this release is a Community Safety Announcement regarding the campaign for raising awareness about this issue.

Do you know how much water it takes for a child to drown?

It takes this much……..

That’s right it only takes that much water in a pool, bathtub, nappy bucket, play pool, bucket, bin, beach, dam or any other source of water…

Supporting the launch and sharing of this campaign

The Samuel Morris Foundation is proud to be associated with the launch of of this water safety campaign… a project put together by advertising agency Cabana Boys. A number of families that the Samuel Morris Foundation have assisted were involved in doing media in support of the launch of this video on 24 November. We would like to thank those families for sharing their personal stories and adding their voice to this important message.

Now it’s your turn – share it!

We want you to do two things to help us support this campaign….

1. Look over at the right hand side of this web page and click LIKE in the Facebook widget

2. Share this video on your Facebook page (facebook.com/thismuch)

or use the share buttons below to share it in other places.

(if you are using our mobile site click below and use the buttons that come up at the bottom of the post) 

Inflatable pool claims the life of a toddler.

Sadly another Australian toddler has lost their life to a drowning. Following a near drowning incident in an inflatable pool in Morpeth NSW on Friday, the 16 month old boys life support was switched off on Saturday and he passed away.

Deciding to switch of your childs life support system is one of the hardest decisions any family can ever possibly face and the Samuel Morris Foundations thoughts are with the family and the Morpeth community during this tragic time.

Incident highlights the growing danger of inflatable pools

It is only a couple of weeks ago that the Samuel Morris Foundation was involved in media to highlight the danger of inflatable pools. We have been working with KidsHealth – The health promotion unit of the Childrens Hospital at Westmead on drowning prevention campaigns and this summer have placed a focus on inflatable pools as they are beginning to feature more prominently in a number of drowning/near drowning cases.

This was the news report containing the warning on inflatable pools:

In fact during the 2010 summer the Sydney Childrens Hospital network recorded the highest number of near drowning incidents on record. these are the Community Service Announcements that the Samuel Morris Foundation, Professor Danny Cass (Childrens Hospital at Westmead) and Dr Kellie Wilson (Sydney Childrens Hospital) recorded in support of the Protect Your Pool: Protect Your Kids pool safety campaign for which this news interview was done:

Michael Morris

Professor Danny Cass

Dr Kellie Wilson

Inflatable pools: Cheap but very risky

Inflatable pools are VERY cheap to buy and the point of sale information about the need for them to be fenced is completely inadequate. Unless people read the fine print they are extremely unlikely to be made aware at the point of sale that ANY pool that is capable of being filled with 30cm or more of water is required to be fenced in the same manner as a full scale in-ground pool.

It was only in the last week that at least one consumer hit the media complaining that the $59 blow up pool that she purchased actually requires a council permit and fencing… see this article: Bargain inflatable pools carry $2000 safety catch

Safety tips for inflatable pools

If the pool is capable of being filled with more than 30cm of water then it MUST be fenced, and the fencing should comply with Australian Standards and State laws… see this link for vital information on pool fencing

If the pool is only able to hold less than 30cm of water:

• Direct, Continuous adult supervision; whenever the pool is inflated and filled with water keep children within arms reach and in direct line of sight
• Empty the pool after use; as soon as activity involving the pool is over the pool should immediately be emptied. Children have drowned after slipping out of site and returning to the water.. and it only takes 5cm of water for a child to drown.
• Deflate or store the pool;  deflate the pool, or store it in a garden shed. This will prevent the pool collecting rain water, or children refilling the pool.

How can you help?

You can spread the messages and links in this post with everyone you know who has kids, has a pool or may be contemplating buying an inflatable pool by using the link icons at the bottom of this post. OR

Write to your local member of parliament and ask them to advocate for changes to fair trading rules around the sale of inflatable type swimming pools. There needs to be VERY clear information about the requirement for pool fencing and water safety advice provided by the vendor at point of sale.

How can you find your local member of parliament?

• NSW
• QLD
• VIC 
• SA
• ACT
• WA
• NT
• TAS

Warning on inflatable pools

The Samuel Morris Foundation, along with the KidsHealth Unit and senior Doctors at the Childrens Hospital at Westmead are concerned about the increase in the number of near drownings that have been occurring.

Cheap inflatable pools are becoming increasing available within the community. These pools represent the same risks as any other type of swimming pool, but many people do not realise that even small inflatable pools (capable of being filled with 30cm or more of water) require fencing.

This issue was broadcast on Channel 7 News around the country on the evening of Sunday 16th October……

Sadly at almost exactly the same time as this was going to air another family was dealing with their 15 month old boy being pulled from a backyard swimming pool. This boy was transferred to the Childrens Hospital at Westmead and was reported to be in a critical condition. Our thoughts go out to this family at their moment of crisis.

To get all of the information you need to know about safe, secure pool fencing and how the check that it complies with the Australian Standards please watch the “Protect Your Pool: Protect Your Kids” Video

Help us in our efforts to continue to raise awareness and prevent drowning.

NSW Water Safety Award

The Samuel Morris Foundation has won an award for “the Most Outstanding Contribution to Water Safety with a focus on an under-represented group” at the 2011 NSW Water Safety Awards. The NSW Water Safety Awards are presented by the NSW Government and hosted by Austswim. On this occasion the awards were presented by the Hon Graham Annesley, the Minister for Sport and Recreation.

Second Water Safety Award win for the Foundation

This is the second time that the Foundation has won this prestigious award, the first occassion being in 2008.

The award win is an acknowledgement of the work that we do at the Samuel Morris Foundation in supporting children disabled by near drowning and working to prevent future drowning death and disability through education and awareness.

There is still a lot of Water Safety work to be done…

In NSW, an average of 6.75 drowning deaths and an average of 24.91 hospital admissions occurred per year between 2007/08 to 2009/10 among children 0-4 years as a result of near drownings in swimming pools.  This equates to 4-5 children being hospitalised for every child death in this age group (this figure is based on the assumption in the report that the drowning deaths are included in the hospitalisations, although this assumption is NOT clearly spelled out in the literature or data, and given that there is evidence that a significant number of drowning fatalities never actually make it a hospital, but are pronounced dead at the scene of the drowning,  if they are excluded from this data then the ratio of drowning deaths to hospital admissions is significantly higher).

Of the 24.91 admissions, evidence from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)  suggests that approximately 22.3% (5.56 children annually in NSW) will experience permanent brain damage, and it is these children that the Foundation supports.

These children have been almost invisible. 

Despite these statistics the plight of near drowning survivors has historically been absent from media coverage, academic discussion  and  debate about policy and lawmaking. The absence of these figures has distorted previous cost benefit analysis used by Government in formulating policy and legislative change. An example of this is that the previous NSW Government used the argument about the lack of a clearly demonstrated cost/benefit ratio to avoid introducing a mandatory inspection regime, like those in place in Western Australia and those recently introduced in Queensland, when they announced changes to the Swimming Pools Act and Regulations in December 2009.

 The picture changes when near drownings are included

An updated cost benefit analysis has been undertaken by KidsHealth  [ http://kidshealth.chw.edu.au/sites/kidshealth.chw.edu.au/files/attachments/754/briefing_paper-_swimming_pool_safety_2.pdf  ] that includes near drowning statistics in the cost benefit analysis and shows a clear benefit to the community through the introduction of a mandatory pool safety inspection program. This report also highlights the fact that additional savings which would be achieved to the Health Budget (and the community more broadly) through a reduction in medical treatment and support costs associated with the life time care and support of children disabled through near drowning have not been included, and this would further increase the potential benefit to the community of an inspection program.

 Meeting the Water Safety Strategy Targets

The Australian Water Safety Strategy 2008-2011 identified children under five years of age and home swimming pools as high risk and priority areas for drowning prevention. The Strategy aims to reduce drowning deaths and near drowning by 50% by 2020 and recommends supervision, pool fencing, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and water familiarisation to reduce drowning among children under five years of age. Supervision plays a role in the majority of drowning cases, with over 75% of children under five years of age having been left alone without adult supervision. There is also strong evidence that a large proportion of children under five years of age who drown in swimming pools, do so as a result of fencing that is not compliant with the Australian Standards.

The Samuel Morris Foundation welcomes the fact that in the 2011 National Drowning Report produced by Royal Life Saving there has been a reduction in the number of drowning deaths in the 0-4 age group. However they are still over-represented in the drowning statistics with children in this age group comprising less than 7% of the Australian population but 9% of the total drowning deaths.

 A need for immediate action in NSW

The NSW Government could have an immediate and lasting impact on meeting the target set in the Australian Water Safety Strategy through the implementation of some significant changes to the NSW Swimming Pools Act and associated legislation to introduce an ongoing home pool safety inspection program similar to those in Western Australia and Queensland. The Samuel Morris Foundation urges the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Sport and Recreation and the Premier all of whom have either portfolio or political responsibilities for meeting this target to convince their cabinet and parliamentary colleagues to implement the changes that the Samuel Morris Foundation and other water safety advocates have been calling for, including a mandatory inspection program, in addition to an increase in community education and awareness.  Further delays in implementing these changes will condemn more families to the experience of death or disability of their children through drowning.

How you can help!

You can help convince NSW politicians to take the action necessary to achieve the changes and meet the drowning prevention targets, how?

You can find the contact details for all NSW Politicians here, look up your local member of parliament or upper house member and send them an email or letter asking them to support the introduction of  changes to NSW Legislation to help reduce the rate of child drowning and disability and CC this email or letter to the Ministers for Police and Emergency Services, Sport and Recreation and Local Government as well as the Premier.

Grieving can feel like trying to paddle upstream in life…

We have covered the issue of dealing with grief before, in these posts: A river of tears for children lost, the inevitability of tears and the reality of grieving for a child with complex medical needs and there is no doubt that we will also cover this topic in future posts as the issue of grief is a constant one for those that have lost a child to drowning or for those that are dealing with the issues of disability following a brain injury after a near drowning or other causes.

I recenty came across some beautiful words on grief by Roshi Joan Halifax, a buddhist teacher who works extensively with the dying process and thought they provide a poignant opportunity to reflect on the process of grief.

“The sorrow of great and small losses is a river that runs in the underground of all of our lives. When it breaks to the surface, we might feel as though only ‘I’ know this pain. Yet grief is a universal experience.

Grief can call us into an experience of raw immediacy that is often devastating. Grieving, we can learn that suffering is not transformed by someone telling us how to do it. We have to do the work ourselves. And that means letting go of what we think we know. When we move through the terrible transformation of the elements of loss and grief, we may discover the truth of the impermanence of everything in our life, and of this very life itself. This is one of the most profound discoveries to be made…….. .

In this way grief and sorrow may teach us gratitude for what we have been given, even the gift of suffering. From her we learn to swim in the stream of universal sorrow. And in that stream, we may even find joy…..

To deny grief is to rob ourselves of the heavy stones that eventually will be the ballast for the two great accumulations of wisdom and compassion.”

and I thought I would leave you with these words that I previously shared in response to a comment on an earlier post…

“Though we have a say in how long and how painfully we suffer after a loss, pain is inevitable in life. To grieve the loss of someone wonderful means to have been honored enough to know them”.