Traditionally the summer season shows a dramatic increase in the number of drowning/near drowning emergencies that paramedics are called to attend to. The past summer has been one of the busiest with Netcare 911 paramedics attending to 98 drowning/near drowning emergencies in Gauteng.
For the summer of 2007-2008, between September 2007 and the end of April 2008, paramedics attended to 85 incidents in Gauteng while the summer of 2008-2009 saw paramedics attending to 95 incidents between 01 September 2008 and 30 April 2009, an increase of more than 15%.
Below is a table of the number of incidents/victims per month that Netcare 911 paramedics responded to in Gauteng:
|
Summer 2007-08 |
Summer 2008-09 |
|
Sep 2007: 09 |
Sep 2008: 10 |
|
Oct 2007: 10 |
Oct 2008: 17 |
|
Nov 2007: 16 |
Nov 2008: 19 |
|
Dec 2007: 19 |
Dec 2008: 20 |
|
Jan 2008: 04 |
Jan 2009: 08 |
|
Feb 2008: 13 |
Feb 2009: 10 |
|
Mar 2008: 08 |
Mar 2009: 07 |
|
Apr 2008: 06 |
Apr 2009: 07 |
|
Total = 85 |
Total = 98 |
Today a 15 month old baby boy was found floating in a swimming pool in Centurion and is currently in a serious condition in ICU.
Netcare 911 supports the proposed swimming pool bylaw in Johannesburg because, simply stated, the facts and stats speak for themselves. The majority of poolside emergencies that we attend to in Gauteng affect young children who slip away unnoticed and fall into unprotected swimming pools and drown.
Physical safety barriers such as safety nets and SABS approved pool fencing can prevent an unsuspecting child from drowning in a potential death trap that is an unprotected swimming pool.
Thankfully, as winter approaches, we expect the number of drownings to decrease but parents and child minders are urged to remain vigilant at all times to eliminate these preventable tragedies.
Also view:
Nick Dollman
mobilemedia
Netcare 911