There is more to lifeguarding than meets the eye
Prevention is the real job of a good lifeguard, stopping an incident before it becomes a rescue or a tragedy.
Lifeguards are a crucial component of water safety, especially during the festive season.
However, it is essential to understand that lifeguards are not a few fit youngsters sitting on a beach waiting for someone to get into trouble and then rescue them.
This is according to Brett Ayres, executive director of Rescue Services at the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) who said there is more that goes into running a lifeguarding service than one thinks.
“Lifeguarding is a system. It boils down to effective training and development of lifeguards, great equipment and quality management. Our NSRI lifeguarding unit has already conducted 29 rescues, 40 first aid treatments and 2 433 prevention interventions since December 1. Prevention is the real job of a good lifeguard, therefore, stopping an incident before it becomes a rescue or a tragedy.
“The NSRI’s lifeguard units are equipped with fins, wetsuits, malibu boards and torpedo buoys to help them get out on the water and effectively perform a rescue quickly once the casualty is out of the water.
“They also have appropriate first aid equipment, oxygen and an AED (automated external defibrillator) required to save lives.
“Our lifeguards are backed up by a VHF radio and cellphone network and supported by our Sea Rescue base stations, beach safety cameras and the national Emergency Operations Centre that can activate a network of higher care in any emergency.
“Currently providing services to five municipalities and 26 beaches, the NSRI uses an app, developed in 2019, to report on this real-time data from our lifeguarded beaches. This also reports on the beach conditions and beachgoer attendance.
“The app allows lifeguards to perform daily equipment checks and send alerts when equipment or disposable stock is low, which is all part of the effective management system,” Ayres added.
“So far, we have seen over 43 800 bathers on our lifeguarded beaches, of which over 13 300 entered the water. No major incidents have been reported.
“I encourage the public to ask their local municipality what equipment, training and support systems their lifeguards have in place to ensure beaches are safe this summer and to only swim at life-guarded beaches,” concluded Ayres.
