This week is Drowning Prevention Week. And, as I’ve written for PoliticsHome today, it’s time that we treat drowning deaths as a public health emergency.
This isn’t hyperbole. Today, at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Water Safety Education which I chair, Royal Life Saving Society UK unveiled some shocking new research showing that around 33 children die from drowning every year – equivalent of a classroom full of children. It also showed that almost nine in ten drowning deaths could have prevented.
That’s why I’ve written today that, despite some really positive recent steps forward such as the inclusion of water safety as a compulsory part of the national curriculum, there is still much more to do. That includes appointing a Minister with responsibility for water safety and drowning prevention; a fresh look at a national swimming and water safety strategy; and the legal responsibility to ensure access to vital safety equipment near water which my colleague Lee Pitcher MP is calling for and is being backed by The Mirror.
We owe it to those who have lost their lives in the water, as well as the brave campaigners who I have worked alongside, to make this happen.