1st November 2024
Shocking new data show that child deaths by drowning have doubled in recent years, with a call for better awareness of the risks of leaving children unattended in the bath. To help raise vital awareness around the risks associated with water in the home, we are delighted to publish this iHV Voices blog written by Sylvia Stoianova, Deputy Director, at the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) Programme, and Matt Croxall, Charity Director at national water safety charity, the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK). The blog presents the latest data around child drowning deaths to raise awareness of the increasing number of avoidable deaths. It also presents clear home safety messages that health visitors, and skill-mix team practitioners, can share with families to help them stay safe in the home, particularly at bath time.
Child Drowning Update Report
Earlier this year NCMD published a summary report on the latest available data on the number and characteristics of child drowning deaths in England. This builds on the findings of the NCMD thematic report Deaths of children and young people due to traumatic incidents. A partnership was established between RLSS UK and NCMD for the ongoing analysis of child drowning deaths so the findings can provide the evidence and insights to support the charity’s work in promoting water safety awareness and education, to reduce the number of children dying due to drowning.
The NCMD data showed that child drowning deaths in England have doubled since 2019-20. This shocking statistic led the charity to do some more analysis around these child deaths, published in its latest Child Drowning Update[1].
The eye-opening report showed that in the last four years, 125 children drowned, and this included 51 at home. This means that on average, at least one child a month drowned at home in England. The report also highlighted that 2 out of 3 drownings that occurred at home did so in the bath, and that most of the children affected were aged under five years.
There were several key factors behind these tragic deaths – with the most common being down to a lack of adult supervision. In fact, the data showed that in 86% of drowning cases, the child was unsupervised at the time of the incident. This included cases where the parent/carer had only left the bathroom for a moment. In the hopes of understanding more about the behaviours typically seen around water at home, the charity has also undertaken some research [2] among parents of children aged under five across the UK.
What did the survey highlight?
The survey revealed a number of misconceptions among parents when it comes to bath time. From the noises they believe they would hear if their child was struggling in the bath, to wrongly thinking a baby bath seat is a safety device, to whether they have left their child alone in the bathroom as they nip out to grab something – even just for a moment, the charity is keen to challenge harmful myths around bath time.
Where can parents seek advice?
With this in mind, the charity has launched an awareness campaign named ‘Splash Safety at your Pad’. The campaign aims to share important water safety messages among parents and carers of young children across the UK and Ireland as well as emphasise the importance of water safety when at home, with a particular focus on bathtime to help families enjoy water safely.
Families can access the bath time safety resources here.
So, what are the messages we need help from health visitors to share?
As well as the campaign aiming to have a positive impact on families with young ones to help promote fun and safe bath times for all children, RLSS UK is also urging healthcare professionals and others working with families alike to help raise awareness on this important issue.
And so, we’re asking healthcare professionals to share this vital water safety messaging to as many families as possible:
- Always keep young children within arm’s reach in the bath. Always keep children under constant adult supervision in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take your child with you.
In RLSS UK’s survey, 59% of parents of children under five admitted to leaving the child unattended in the bath at least once in the past month – and for most, this was down to them forgetting something, such as a towel. - Never leave your child under the supervision of child siblings in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take your child with you.
The survey highlighted that 2 in 5 parents (41%) think it’s safe to leave a baby in the bath with an older sibling, as long as it’s not for too long. - Drowning can happen quickly and silently – in a matter of minutes. You won’t hear that something is wrong.
Parents often don’t realise that drowning happens quickly and silently. In the survey, 55% of parents believe they would hear thrashing and a lot of noise if their child was struggling in the bath.
How can I contact RLSS UK?
Professionals can get in touch via [email protected]
Parents and carers can visit the website at www.rlss.org.uk
[2] Consumer survey (September 2024), geographically representative sample of n=1,003 parents of children under five years from across the UK.
