The Royal Life Saving Drowning Report for 2016/17 serves as a sobering reminder the barriers advocated by the industry to protect our children in and around water are failing.
- 32% increase in the drowning deaths in children aged 0-4 years
- 45% of children aged 0-4 years drowned in a backyard swimming pool and is the leading location of drowning deaths in children aged 0-4 years.
- 76% of children who drown do so due to falls into water
(2016/17 RLSS statistics).
- There were between 600 and 700 hospitalisations due to ‘non-fatal drownings’ each year in Australia and children under five made up almost half of those.” Royal Lifesaving Australia national manager for research and policy Amy Peden
- The latest research by Royal Life Saving – Australia states between 1 July 2002 and 30 June 2015 there were 6,158 cases of non-fatal drowning in Australia that resulted in hospitalisation.?
* There are an average of 474 non-fatal drowning incidents each year.?
* Non-fatal incidents have increased by 42% in 13 years.?
* Young children aged 0-4 years accounted for 42% of all non-fatal drowning incidents.?
* Non-fatal drowning incidents in children aged 0-4 years is between 5 and 14 times higher than any other age group.?
* Swimming pools are the leading location for non-fatal drowning, accounting for 36% of incidents.?
* Children under the age of five years account for 78% of non-fatal drowning
If you would like to read the whole report Click Here
