Rachel Murray, Senior Health Promotion Officer
Royal Life Saving Society of WA
Injury Matters recently connected with Rachel Murray of Royal Life Saving Society WA to learn more about the work and projects that RLSSWA do to support and encourage water safety for the West Australian community.
Rachel is a senior health promotion officer at the Royal Life Saving Society WA with her primary role to coordinate the Keep Watch toddler drowning prevention program. Drowning is the leading cause of preventable death in young children in Australia and Keep Watch has been educating parents and Carers about drowning risks and prevention strategies for over 25 years. As the coordinator, Rachel implements and evaluates all aspects of the Keep Watch program across the state. This includes delivering direct community education to parents, planning mass media and social media campaigns and developing educational resources.
Key to the role is to also deliver professional development programs and build relationships with stakeholders including child health nurses, parenting organisations, aquatic centres, and local government. Proud to be part of a broader health promotion team that also delivers programs targeting young people 15-24 years, adults over the age of 45 and patrons at public swimming pools, read on to discover more of the priorities and challenges facing Rachel and the RLSSWA team.
What priorities are you currently working on?
Our strategies in Keep Watch are all structured around promotion of our four key messages:
- Supervise children
- Restrict access to water
- Teach children water safety skills, and
- Respond in an emergency.
While we have seen a steady decrease in drowning in young children, there has recently been a concerning number of drowning deaths recorded in home pools. We are prioritising pool safety through developing our relationships with sectors including the real estate industry, pool shops and businesses and local government. This is in an effort to find innovative ways to educate parents and pool owners about the steps they can take to maintain the integrity of their pool barrier and reduce the risk of children accessing pool areas unsupervised.
We’re also aiming to increase participation in CPR training among parents of young children. Our Heart Beat Club grants program provides access to free CPR and basic first training, delivered through community centres and parenting organisations. We hope to continue to grow this and increase availability, particularly in regional areas.
How do you see water safety and the role of RLSS of WA evolving over the next 5 years?
There is growing awareness of the importance of swimming and water safety skills to facilitate safe enjoyment of water, but at the same time we are seeing declining numbers of children participating in swimming lessons. We also know that people who are born overseas (whether they are in Australia as a tourist or migrant) are significantly less likely to have these skills. Royal Life Saving will continue to build on our existing partnerships with schools, community organisations and universities to ensure that everyone has access to the education and training they need to keep themselves and their families safe around water.
What is the biggest challenge you see facing safety around our waterways and oceans in WA?
Complacency is a big one. Because many Australians have grown up around the water and consider themselves strong swimmers or experienced boaters etc., it’s a real challenge to convince people that drowning is something that could happen to them. As a result, there can be resistance to some of our safety messaging as people believe it doesn’t apply to them. This attitude can also be reflected by parents who might let their guard down because their child can swim and is confident in the water and consequently not supervise as closely. Part of our education is reminding people that things can go wrong around the water very quickly and anyone can find themselves in danger. However by being prepared and taking simple steps including supervising children, checking the conditions, avoiding going alone, avoiding alcohol and wearing a lifejackets, they can reduce the risk.
How can people engage and connect with the work being done by Royal Life Saving Society of Western Australia?
I encourage people to look at our WA Drowning Report. This report examines the factors that contribute to drowning by examining who, where, when and how people have drowned in Western Australian waterways over the last year. It also includes an in-depth profile of each region which is valuable source of local data.
- VISIT the Royal Life Saving Society of WA website to access resources and industry information.
- PARTICIPATE in online learning modules and training opportunities.
- FOLLOW Royal Life Saving Society of WA on social media platforms for regular updates on activities and drowning prevention messages.
- NETWORK and ENGAGE through their membership options and empower your community to be safe in, on, or around the water.
Keep an eye out online and via social media for three major drowning prevention media campaign running over summer and share the resources:
- Keep Watch – targeting parents and carers with children under five years of age.
- Be A Mermate – targeting youth 15-24 years of age.
- Make The Right Call campaign – targeting adults aged 45 years and over.
Remember – Everyone can be a lifesaver!
We hope you enjoyed this Sector Spotlight update. If you would like to be featured and share the great work going on in your sector for injury prevention, please email: [email protected]
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