Vigilance by the water saves lives

THE Perak Clinical Research Centre of the Health Ministry has conducted extensive research on drowning in children over many years.

With 500 children drowning every year in this country, this is the second most common cause of death in Malaysian children aged one to 18. This year, we obtained support from the Health Ministry to establish a National Registry on Drowning in Children with a view to identifying areas we can work on in terms of prevention.

We would like to share one immediate area of concern that has emerged from the data.

From January to September 2017, there have been at least 31 childhood drowning cases in swimming pools and theme parks. These have been reported from all over the country with larger numbers in Selangor, Kedah and Pahang. The drownings have occurred in hotel swimming pools and water theme parks. The children were aged between two and nine years, with 75% of them being under five years of age.

These drowning events could have been prevented by better vigilance and putting in place adequate safety measures. To prevent drowning:

> Do not leave a child unsuper- vised in or near any body of water. This rule needs to be enforced especially at swimming pools and theme parks. No child should be allowed into the water without an accompanying adult.

> Provide an adequate number of trained lifeguards at all swimming pools and theme parks whenever they are operational.

> Provide lifeguard-approved flotation devices to children under five years old.

> Fence off swimming pools around all sides to prevent accidental entry by a young child. > Teach children to swim. With the end-of-year school holidays just around the corner, we appeal to parents, hotel managers and theme park administrators to increase their vigilance and review safety measures to prevent further drowning cases. It is tragic for a young child to die or be brain-damaged by drowning.