Swimming pool deaths prompt staff training plans

The Swimming Teachers' Association (STA) has launched a new course to help hotel staff rescue guests from drowning or other accidents.

It was, says STA development co-ordinator Garry Seghers, indirectly inspired by the tragic drownings of two children in hotel pools in Newquay, Cornwall, last summer (Caterer, 27 November 1997, page 8). Newquay's National Lifeguard Training Centre is, appropriately, the site chosen to kick off the courses this month.

STA executive officer Roger Millward stressed that, while few small hotels with pools have full-time lifeguards, they need at least one member of staff well-versed in pool safety. And, because small businesses cannot spare staff for long periods of training, the STA has split the course into three bite-sized packages.

Stage one in the National Aquatic Rescue Standard (Pool Attendants) is a day-long practical session covering emergency action plans, safety guidelines, resuscitation and spinal injury management, and incorporates simulated rescues.

Staff successfully taking the half-day follow-up examination course will gain a certificate of competence, while stage three involves a day with the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management which looks at specific procedures in participating hotels.

• Call 01922 645097 for details.