Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, recently met with representatives from Water Safety Scotland in the Scottish Parliament to discuss their work around water safety. With more than 30,000 freshwater lochs and a huge coastline of more than 11,800kms, Scotland covers roughly 60 per cent of the UK’s entire coast. On average 50 people accidentally drown in Scotland each year. Four in ten of Scotland’s accidental drownings the person had no intention of entering the water
Water Safety Scotland (WSS), hosted by RoSPA, is a voluntary association of organisations, all working to reduce the rate of accidental drownings in Scotland, which is disproportionately high compared to other parts of the UK. They are hoping to achieve this through a number of initiatives, in collaboration with other stakeholders.
Water Safety Scotland, along with Education Scotland, has created water safety education resources that are now available for teachers to use with pupils from nursery to S6. These lessons are all framed around the water safety code which is a three-step code to help make safe, informed decisions when in or around water. The code encourages those near water or thinking of entering water to stop, think, and spot the dangers such as wind and tides or other water activities. It’s safer to stay close to other people when going near the water and if someone is in trouble do not enter the water after them. In an emergency call 999.
Alongside the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, WSS has implemented Drowning and Incident Review (DIR), a rigorous review process to examine the circumstances that led to each incident of accidental drowning and what can be done to prevent a future occurrence. WSS is also supporting the creation of Partnership Approach to Water Safety (PAWS) groups in each of Scotland’s local authorities. This means that risks around water can be considered at a local level.
WSS has recently released the water safety code in different languages, including Chinese, French, Gaelic, Polish, Punjabi, Ukrainian and Urdu, to ensure that potentially life-saving information is accessible to more people.
Commenting, Evelyn Tweed MSP said:
“It was great to meet with WSS to discuss their work. There have been a number of tragic deaths in the constituency in recent years, and I was pleased to hear of the progress WSS is making to address this. I really encourage constituents to look at the resources form Water Safety Scotland, and encourage caution, whether you intend to enter the water or not.
A representative from WSS said:
“We were so thankful for the opportunity to promote WSS’s work during our recent parliamentary exhibition. We were able to engage with Evelyn Tweed MSP and many others to discuss the workstreams that address the targets of Scotland’s Drowning Prevention Strategy. We encourage everyone in Scotland to familiarise themselves with the water safety code as well as our other pieces of education and advice, so people can make safe and informed choices when in and around water. To find out more, come along to our water safety open day at Helix Park, Falkirk on 25 July which should be great day out.”
We encourage everyone to learn more about the work of Water Safety Scotland through their website: https://watersafetyscotland.org.uk/
