Victoria s Drowning Report Dr Bernadette Matthews

Victoria s Drowning Report Dr Bernadette Matthews

Drowning Toll Current Drowning Toll 30 Drowning Deaths (1 July 2010 30 June 2011) Last Years Total Drowning Toll 38 Drowning Deaths (1 July 2009 30 June 2010) 21%

Number of Drowning Deaths Drowning Deaths Comparison Between Years 2010/2011 compared with 2009/2010 and 5-Yr average 2005-2010 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2009/2010 2005-2010 AVG 2010/2011 Month

Drowning Rate National Comparison 2.5 Average Drowning Rate/100,000 Population: 5 Yr Avg 2005-2010. 2.28 2 1.5 1.57 1.48 1.58 1.35 1 0.5 0.72 1.07 0 QLD NSW VIC TAS SA WA National

Drowning per 100,000 population Drowning Deaths & Drowning Rate Since PISBTW 2.60 2.40 2.20 2.00 1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 Campaign Start 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 Year Males Females Total

Demographics- Age 1.600 1.400 1.200 Drowning rate in Victoria by age 2000-2011 Avg 2000-2010 2010/2011 1.000 0.800 0.600 0.400 0.200 0.000 0-4 5-14 Christmas 15-24in July 2011 25-34 35-59 60+

Toddler 0-4 Yrs Drowning 2.500 Toddler drowning rate Victoria 2000-2011 2.000 1.500 1.000 0.500 0.000

20 seconds is all it takes... http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=dg4zvxwt FCE&feature=player_de tailpage

Other Toddler Initiatives Victorian Home Pool and Spa Safety Committee Draft Regulatory Proposal Portable Swimming Pools

Toddler 0-4 Yrs Drowning 2.500 Toddler drowning rate Victoria 2000-2011 2.000 1.500 1.000 0.500 0.000

Children 5-14 Yrs Drowning Child 5-14 years drowning rate Victoria 2000-2011 1.000 0.900 0.800 0.700 0.600 0.500 0.400 0.300 0.200 0.100 0.000

Child Drowning Issues 27% of adults and 18% of youth indicate that they have not had formal swimming lessons (Newspoll, 2009) Lack of awareness of parents in regards to water safety and benefits of providing their children with swimming lessons Lack of compulsory swimming lessons in all Victorian schools A recent survey of 190 primary schools in Victoria indicated that: Less than two thirds (61.8%) of schools have compulsory aquatic safety/water survival programs Only half of those surveyed felt that students at their school were developing adequate water safety skills

Swimming Lessons Participation in formal swimming lessons is associated with an 88% reduction in the risk of drowning in children aged 1 to 4 years (Brenner et al 2009) The benefit of a strategy to increase swimming ability in the population is the potential to decrease drowning risk across the spectrum of situations, age, gender and cultural groups

Place of Residence 2.00 1.80 1.60 1.40 1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 Major City Rate per 100,000 Regional Rate per 100,000 Linear (Regional Rate per 100,000)

Location Location 2010/2011 2009/2010 2005-2010 AVG Coastal 11 37% 14 37% 15 40% Inland 14 47% 8 21% 12 32% Home/ other 5 17% 16 42% 11 29% Total 30 100% 38 100% 38 100%

Location Rivers lakes creeks dams All up on last year and either more or the same as the 5-year average Home Pool/ Spa 2 drowning deaths; 4 less than last year and 2 less than average Bathtub/ Spa Bath 1 drowning death; 5 less than last year and 4 less than average Public Pool 1 drowning death; same as last year and 1 less than average

Activity Boating 5 drowning deaths this year; increase by 2 compared with previous years Rock Fishing 0 deaths this year; decrease from previous years Walking/playing near water 4 drowning deaths this year; decrease from previous years Bathing 1 drowning death this year, 6 less than last year and 4 less than previous 5-year average Likely reason for decrease in female demographic

Contributing Factors - Alcohol 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Number of drowning deaths where alcohol indicated as present 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Alcohol Alcohol continues to be an issue in males 15-59 yrs with approximately one third of drowning incidents involving alcohol Males are twice as likely as females to go swimming under the influence of alcohol. One in twelve males (8.4%) over the age of 14 years reported that they went swimming while under the influence of alcohol (AIHW 2005). A recent coronial finding has recommended that State and Local Government provide funding to life saving organizations, to enable them to continue to promote public safety messages at to the danger of alcohol related drowning.

Don t Drink and Drown Video

Rescues Patrolled Beaches 10 9 Rescues per 10,000 Total Rescues 1200 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 906 781 798 700 2.95 3.13 2.98 2.69 572 2.18 634 691 2.90 3.14 1000 800 600 400 200 0 0 Year

Rescue and First Aid 691 rescues in 2010/2011 season 13% rate of rescues per 10,000 visitors compared with 5 year average 1824 major and minor First Aid actions 12% compared with 5-year average 7% lifeguard first aid actions per 10,000 visitors compared with 5-year average

Summary Key themes Toddler TVC results Child drowning Alcohol and drowning Rock fishing

Thank you