Gauteng is the province with the second highest percentage of drownings after KwaZulu Natal.
A total of 41 per cent of drownings took place in KZN followed by 31.37 per cent in Gauteng.
This was revealed by head of clinical leadership at Netcare 911, David Stanton who added that extracts from Netcare 911 for the period 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2017, showed that as much as 62 per cent of all drowning incidents occurred during peak summer months.
Stanton said incidents of drowning are also significantly higher in the coastal areas than inland during December and January.
“When reviewing statistics for the entire year, coastal areas reflect 55 per cent of all drowning incidents.”
KwaZulu-Natal saw the highest percentage of drowning incidents during the 12 month period, possibly because of the warm weather enjoyed all year round and the fact that holidaymakers flock to the coastal regions throughout the year.
“It is, however, disconcerting to note that Gauteng is in a close second position reflecting 31.37 per cent of all drownings.”
According to Stanton, emergency medical service providers such as Netcare 911 tend to receive more calls related to drowning and water-associated emergency incidents during December and January than any other months.
“Our statistics reveal that the greatest percentage of all drowning incidents during the year occur during the peak holiday periods. This is attributable to the high volumes of tourists, both foreign and local, who flock to the beaches during school holidays and over the festive season.”
What you should do in the event of a drowning
- Get the victim out of the water as soon as possible but do not become a victim yourself. Make sure it is safe for you to enter the water first
- Handle the victim with care. Many submersion incidents are associated with neck injuries, so keep movement in the back and neck to a minimum
- Assess to see if the victim is awake by asking, “Hello can you hear me?”
- Check for breathing by looking at the chest for no longer than 10 seconds. If the victim is not breathing or not breathing normally (i.e. gasping), call for immediate medical assistance.
- Call or have someone call a recognised medical emergency service provider such as Netcare 911 on 082 911 as soon as possible. Whoever calls for the ambulance must give the dispatcher an accurate location of the incident and a contact number at the scene. Never hang up on the operator and always return to the rescuer to inform them that you have called for help.
- If the victim is not breathing, immediately start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), beginning with chest compressions. Keep doing CPR at a ratio of 30 chest compressions, and then 2 breaths.
- CPR is vital, even if it is an amateur administering it. Keep on doing it until someone who is trained in advanced life support arrives and can take over.
- All parents should learn how to administer child CPR as it differs from adult CPR. All people can benefit from CPR training – it is not a difficult skill to learn.
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