LIFESTYLE NEWS - Every moment near water holds the risk of an emergency, warns an emergency medicine specialist, urging families and individuals to be constantly vigilant as temperatures rise and the hazard of drowning intensifies.

According to ChildSafe SA, a leading child safety organisation, South Africa is globally listed among the top 45 countries with a drowning rate of 4.06 per 100,000 population. This silent epidemic demands immediate attention.

“Your child is never safe around water. Vigilance and a proactive approach are crucial to prevent drowning, particularly in summer months when the danger of drowning increases,” says Professor Feroza Motara, head of emergency medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand and emergency medical specialist practising at Netcare Linksfield Hospital.

“Drowning is silent, and can occur within seconds, without any warning signs. The risk is present around any water, including baths, swimming pools, and even small inflatable pools. 

"Children must be watched every moment they are near water and this task must never be delegated to others, including older children or distracted adults, as disaster can strike instantly. Every lapse in supervision is a potential tragedy; vigilance cannot be compromised,” she warns.

Professor Motara points out that even a glance at your phone, replying to a message, or scrolling through social media while supervising children near water can lead to disaster.

“It is particularly dangerous to consume alcohol or socialise when supervising children near water. Just one lapse in attention may result in serious, life-threatening consequences, especially when more than one small child is present. 

"Every distraction creates a risk. Never allow anything to divert your focus when children are in or near water,” she cautions.

Practical child water safety toolbox:

• NEVER leave children unattended, inside and outside.
• Supervision must be undistracted—avoid phones, reading, or long conversations while children are in or near water.
• Keep alert to everyday risks, including toilets, bathtubs, water features, fish tanks, pet water bowls and buckets. Children can drown wherever there is access to water, and a baby can drown in as little as 2.5cm of water.
• Stay within arm’s length of all children around water.
• Always know where your children are. Parents must ensure they or a responsible adult is always watching children near a pool, jacuzzi or natural body of water. Don’t assume a child meant to be inside has not got out somehow.
• Learn life-saving skills, including the basics of swimming and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Enclose ponds, pools and water storage: Install a four-sided isolation fence at least 1.2m high with a self-closing and self-latching gate to control access to bodies of water.
• Focus on supervision. Never consume alcohol or let yourself be distracted by work, phone calls, social media, or anything else that could divert your attention while watching children.
• Replace the pool safety cover immediately after swimming.
• Don’t rely on armbands, floating toys, inner tubes, or other devices to keep children safe.
• Teach children to swim, but never leave them unsupervised around water.
• Consider installing water alarms, such as a floating pool alarm or external security beams, to complement the precautions of fencing and supervision.
• Beware of drains. Children must be kept away from pool or jacuzzi drains as hair or limbs could become trapped in the suction.
• Know who to call in an emergency. Be prepared for any medical emergency with Netcare 911 on 082 911, and download the Netcare app, which includes Netcare 911 emergency call and geolocation functions, as well as a 60-second callback option.

Mande Toubkin, Netcare’s general manager of emergency and trauma, transplant and CSI, encourages everyone, especially parents and child carers, to learn basic first aid and CPR. 

While proper supervision and preventive steps should eliminate the need for emergency intervention, knowing CPR can mean the difference between life and death in a drowning situation. These lifesaving skills are indispensable; their true value is only realised during a crisis, when quick action can save a child’s life.

“Complacency is a major risk factor when we are having fun, and adults can also benefit from a refresher on injury and drowning prevention around water,” she points out.

A safety refresher for adults

• Never swim alone.
• Never swim in the sea, dams or rivers at night.
• Avoid swimming while under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants.
• When near water, children must always be supervised by a responsible adult who is not distracted.
• At the beach, only swim in designated areas with lifeguards and don’t swim far out.
• Remember, swimming in the sea is very different to swimming in a pool or dam, even for experienced swimmers.
• Only dive into a body of water if you can see what is below the surface, and always test the depth first.

Basic CPR technique

• Shout for help.
• Loudly call the person’s name. If the person is not showing signs of life and not breathing, start hands-on CPR
• Ensure someone has called the emergency services, such as Netcare 911 on 082 911 or via the Netcare app.
• The Netcare 911 call centre will assist you to do CPR.
• Do not put the person in a car and rush them to hospital as valuable time is wasted not doing CPR.
• With the patient on a firm, flat surface, kneel next to the person.
• For adult patients, interlace the fingers and, using both hands, pump hard and fast in the centre of the chest. For adults, hands-only CPR may be used.
• For child patients, place one hand in the centre of the chest and begin single-handed chest compressions, hard and fast. After 30 compressions, tilt the head back, and give two rescue breaths into the child’s mouth of one second each.
• For babies, use only two fingers for chest compressions, depressing the chest approximately 3.5cm. After 30 compressions, tilt the head back and give two rescue breaths of one second each, allowing the previous breath of air to escape before giving the next.
• Repeat chest compressions, allowing the chest to rise between each compression.
• Continue hands-only CPR until help arrives or the patient becomes responsive or shows signs of life, such as breathing or coughing.

Even if you have never done CPR before, Netcare 911’s national emergency operations centre (EOC) can provide live coaching via secure video link to callers until help arrives. 

The caller is connected with the Netcare 911 emergency care providers, enabling them to see and hear each other.

A qualified healthcare provider, a registered nurse or paramedic, demonstrates the relevant CPR technique for an adult, child or an infant on an appropriately sized mannequin, as a case manager coaches the caller to copy their actions to perform CPR correctly on the patient at the scene.

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