Last updated by Stephanie.Rosser@essex.gov.uk on Wednesday, October 9, 2024

As part of their Water Safety campaign, the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) had issued a safety warning coming up from their latest Child Drowning Update using evidence from NCMD.

The recent report reveals that 125 children have drowned in the past four years, with 51 incidents occurring at home—primarily during bath time and involving children under five.

The report emphasizes the importance of adult supervision, as 86% of cases involved unsupervised children.

Please see the attached Safety Warning for Health and Care Professionals with the full list of key messages.

Key messages:

1. Always keep young children within arm’s reach in the bath. Always keep children under constant adult supervision in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. 59% of parents of children under five admitted to leaving the child unattended in the bath at least once in the past month – and for most, this was down to them forgetting something, such as a towel.
2. Never leave your child under the supervision of child siblings in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. 2 in 5 parents (41%) think it's safe to leave a baby in the bath with an older sibling, as long as it's not for too long.
3. Drowning can happen quickly and silently – in a matter of minutes. You won’t hear that something is wrong. Parents often don’t realise that drowning happens quickly and silently. 55% of parents believe they would hear thrashing and a lot of noise if their child was struggling in the bath.