WATER SAFETY NEW ZEALAND DROWNING PREVENTION REPORT 2015

Transcription

1 WATER SAFETY NEW ZEALAND DROWNING PREVENTION REPORT

2 Contents Introduction National Overview Progress Towards New Zealand Water Safety Strategy Goals Mortality Quick Facts Acknowledgements With special thanks to our government partners. Drowning is the respiratory impairment of lungs due to submersion / immersion in liquid. It can be fatal (mortality), or non-fatal (morbidity) resulting in a stay in hospital of hours or longer. ISSN6- (Print) ISSN6- (Online) Contents

3 Introduction It is with a heavy heart that I introduce the drowning report, a year in which lives were lost to drowning, percent up on the previous year s total of. Tragically, 6 of these drownings were preventable. The number of hospitalisations as a result of water immersion incidents make grim reading too, topping, the highest since records began in. And figures show the death rate per, people (.) remains high compared to our Trans- Tasman neighbours Australia (.) and the United Kingdom (.). This report provides a snapshot of the drowning problem in. It breaks down the number of fatalities by age groups and activities such as boating and swimming. It also includes the environment in which they died, be it at the beach or river, and comparisons to and fiveyear averages. As Water Safety New Zealand s new Chief Executive, it s my job to lead our organisation and sector partners through the next five years as we work to meet the ambitious goals of halving the male (preventable) drowning toll and bringing the number of pre-school drownings down to zero. Through the New Zealand Water Safety Strategy, we are investing heavily in new programmes and initiatives to ensure Kiwis have the skills and knowledge needed to enjoy the water safely. The targets agreed to by the sector and the progress being made towards these shared goals are for the first time - outlined in this document. To keep track of the ongoing progress the Drowning Prevention Report will also be regularly updated during the coming year. You can view this at drownbase.org.nz. The water safety sector is united in its commitment to meet drowning prevention targets, but to truly have an impact on these disturbing statistics all Kiwis must play a part. Only through a change of attitude and behaviour will we successfully address our high drowning toll. By taking a safer and more responsible approach to water we can all enjoy the stunning waterways that make our country special safely. Jonty Mills Chief Executive National Overview In there were 6 recreational (intending to be in the water) and non-recreational (no intention of being in the water) drowning fatalities. The following analysis of fatalities is based on these 6 incidents (and is compared to previous years recreational and non-recreational deaths). The remaining fatalities are classified as other (arising as a result of road or air vehicle accidents, homicide, suicide or of unknown origin) and are not considered applicable to the prevention and rescue efforts of the water safety sector. Introduction National Overview

4 fatalities by region 6 fatalities SOUTHLAND WEST COAST NORTHLAND TARANAKI TASMAN WAIKATO OTAGO AUCKLAND MARLBOROUGH CANTERBURY BAY OF PLENTY 6 GISBORNE 6 WELLINGTON UNKNOWN HAWKE S BAY MANAWATU- WANGANUI Number of hospitalisations Goal Targets Progress Towards New Zealand Water Safety Strategy Goals (average) Goal Deaths 6 Male 66 6 Under fives 6 6 National Overview Goal Targets

5 Mortality per, NORTHLAND AUCKLAND.. fatalities by region per, people in TASMAN. TARANAKI.. WAIKATO.. BAY OF PLENTY GISBORNE.... WELLINGTON HAWKE S BAY MANAWATU- WANGANUI WEST COAST.. MARLBOROUGH.. SOUTHLAND.. OTAGO.. CANTERBURY.. National Overview Mortality

6 Mortality by age group Mortality by gender - fatalities Fatalities of under fives were the lowest since. Deaths of - year olds were the highest since. 6% of - year old deaths occurred offshore the majority being underwater deaths. -6 year olds had a 6% increase on and the five year averages, % occurred while boating. - fatality - fatalities - fatalities - fatalities - fatalities 6+ fatalities After a decrease in the past five years, the male toll is again up to % of the total fatalities. Male and female deaths were the highest total since. The top activities for female deaths were immersion incidents (, %) and swimming (, %). The top activities for males were immersion incidents (, %) and boating (, %). 6 fatalities fatalities -6 fatalities Fatalities (Avg) (Avg) Fatalities (Avg) (Avg) Female Male Age Gender Mortality Mortality

7 Mortality by ethnicity Mortality by environment Offshore fatalities was the highest Asian toll on record. This made up % of deaths at a per, rate of.. The Māori toll continues to be static at % of drowning fatalities. This is a per, rate of.. NZ European fatalities Offshore was the environment with the highest toll in (% of fatalities). % of Māori deaths occurred offshore. Fatalities at beaches were twice the toll and it was the highest beach toll since. Beaches Rivers Tidal waters Inland still waters All Pacific Peoples drowning deaths were male. Māori fatalities The rivers toll was the highest since. 6% of NZ European deaths occurred at rivers. Domestic fatalities Home pools Public pools Pacific Peoples fatalities Asian fatalities Fatalities (Avg) (Avg) Fatalities 6 - (Avg) (Avg) Asian Māori NZ European Pacific Peoples Unknown Ethnicity Offshore Beaches Rivers Tidal Waters Inland Still Waters Environment Domestic Home Pools Public Pools Mortality Mortality

8 Mortality by activity Non-powered boat deaths were double the toll. 6% were kayakers the highest kayaking toll since. Four of the powered boat deaths occurred on a harbour/river bar almost quadruple the five year average. The land based fishing toll was the same as last year, down % on the ten year average. All occurred in the North Island and all were male. Underwater fatalities were the highest since. % of underwater fatalities occurred while the person was fishing/gathering kai. In most cases, none had a buddy within visual distance. % of swimming deaths were aged -. Sailing fatality Powered boat fatalities Swimming fatalities Non-powered boat fatalities Underwater fatalities Land based fishing fatalities recreation fatalities Fatalities - (Avg) (Avg) Land Based Fishing Non Powered Boat Powered Boat Sailing Swimming Underwater Recreation Activity Mortality National Overview

9 by region per,.. SOUTHLAND.. NORTHLAND TASMAN WEST COAST TARANAKI.. OTAGO.. WAIKATO 6.. AUCKLAND.6. MARLBOROUGH CANTERBURY.. - BAY OF PLENTY GISBORNE WELLINGTON HAWKE S BAY MANAWATU- WANGANUI by age group Under fives hospitalisations are the lowest since records began in. Māori comprise half of under five hospitalisations. of those aged - are double that on. 6% occurred when swimming. - year olds and -6 year olds had the highest number of hospitalisations since records began in Age hospitalisations (Avg) (Avg) -6 -

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11 by ethnicity by gender Māori hospitalisations increased % on and % on the five year average. Almost one quarter were aged -. ethnicities increased % on and 6% on the five year average. % were aged between -. of Pacific Peoples stayed the same as the five year average. % were aged under. Asian Pacific Peoples NZ European hospitalisations Māori 6 There were. males hospitalised for every female. 6% of female hospitalisations were aged under. Swimming was the highest activity toll for hospitalisations of both males (%) and females (%). hospitalisations hospitalisations Unknown (Avg) (Avg) (Avg) (Avg) Asian Māori NZ European Pacific Peoples Unknown Female Male Ethnicity Gender

12 by activity by activity Boating Sailing Boating hospitalisations in total decreased % on and % on the five year average, although non-powered boats almost doubled the toll. The largest age group being hospitalised from non powered boats incidents are those aged - (%). Swimming is the highest activity toll (%). Swimming hospitalisations were up % on and % on five year average. The total was one third higher than previous high for swimming. The largest group for swimming incidents was - (6%). Boating/ non-powered Swimming Accidental immersion 6 hospitalisations / unspecified Commercial recreation Water sport Boating /unspecified Boating Powered Accidental immersion Boating Non-powered Boating /unspecified Boating Powered Boating Sailing Commercial Domestic Fishing injury Activity recreation Unspecified activity Swimming Road Transport Transport Underwater Water sport - (Avg) (Avg)

13 by environment by environment 6 6 Beach hospitalisations increased % on and % on the five year average. Half of those hospitalised due to an incident on the beach were aged between -. Large area of water 6 Beach 6 Stream Domestic hospitalisations decreased 6% on and % on the five year average due to a significantly lower under fives hospitalisation toll but under fives still made up 6% of other domestic hospitalisations. % of pool hospitalisations of under fives were Māori. Pool domestic unspecified environment Area of still water Forest/countryside Farm Commercial Roadway School Large area of water Beach 6 Stream domestic Pool unspecified environment 6 Area of still water Farm Forest / countryside Commercial School Roadway Sports & athletics area Sports & athletics area Environment - (Avg) (Avg) Note: Hospitalisation data is sorted using the ICD--AM/ACHI/ACS international coding system. A large amount of environmental coding is set to large body of water which does not allow for a more specific data breakdown. The system is based on internationally established codes.

14 Drowning fatalities and hospitalisation incidents Hospitalisation incidents related to drowning have increased 6% between () and ().,, Number 6 6 Year 6 Fatalities fatalities NZ Population estimate ISSN6- (Print) ISSN6- (Online) Water Safety New Zealand Incorporated PO Box, The Terrace Wellington watersafety.org.nz facebook.com/watersafetynz 6 National Overview

15 Quick Facts (fatalities) average Numbers %rounded Numbers %rounded average Numbers %rounded Numbers %rounded Recreational activity Land based fishing Non-powered boat Powered boat Sailing Swimming Underwater recreation Non-recreational activity Immersion incidents 6 Occupational 6 Total Ethnicity Asian Māori NZ European Pacific Peoples Unknown Total Gender Female Male Total Environment Beaches Domestic 6 Home pools Inland still waters Offshore Public pools Rivers Tidal waters Total Age group Total Quick Facts