19 October, 2012 11:09AM AEST

Drowning prevention advocate: "I really don't think Australia is listening"

Kat Plint, founder of Hannah's Foundation, a drowning prevention and family support service, says it's been a tragic start to the warm season with four toddlers in Queensland drowning in backyard pools, "sadly it's only going to get worse if people don't heed the warnings, and listen to the past stories, to re-educate people on supervision, barriers, and drowning prevention."

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"We have had success with our pool safety campaign in Queensland", Kat Plint says, "it did reduce drowning in the last twelve months, but sadly in the past week we've blown that statistic out of the water. Literally. And these pools were actually owned homes. The new Queensland pool safety laws don't cover these homes until 2015. So my message to parents out there is if you have babies or toddler, any child under the age of six, who isn't proficient in the water to actually rescue themselves, get your pool safety inspections done on your fences and your gates and your locks and latches."

"If you prop the gate with a pot plant, a bottle, or some sort of object, you are breaching your pool fence. It's like taking your seat belt off in a vehicle. Anybody who props open their gate out there, listen to this warning, if you've got children on your property, or around it, you could be criminally charged if you contribute to the death of a child."

Kat says it's not just pools people need to focus on; dams, rivers, inland waterways, and even bathtubs can cause drowning, "five centimetres is all it takes...I get infuriated when I get calls about bath drownings because I just don't understand how anybody could leave a bath of water unattended like that, knowing that it can kill someone. You have to supervise."

"People think that if they can swim, they're ok. But at the end of the day we're losing swimmers, even competition swimmers in surf lifesaving...I really don't think Australia is listening."

Checking the backyard pool

"It's things people often don't see like pot plants, bikes, toys, light plastic chairs. I encourage people to put sandbags underneath those white plastic chairs, so the kids can't move them. Making sure the gate is latched. The purpose of a self-closing gate means the gate must self-close. How we actually check that in inspections is that we open it a centimetre from the latch and make sure it locks. If it doesn't lock you need to look at your hinges. It's actually the hinges that are mostly at fault.

"We suggest with the warmer weather in Australia that you replace gate hinges and locks every five years."

"It will probably shock you that most of the children that have drowned over the past two weeks were enrolled in swimming lessons. It's not about being able to swim."

"I'm not trying to use the term 'water safety' anymore because I think it gives that false sense of security. It's 'drowning prevention'."

No cure

Kat runs a phone support line for people affected by drownings, "I've met mothers and grandmothers, aunties, older brothers and sisters, doing family and carer functions. They can't have these kids at the age of two, three, or five attached to their hip all the time. Kids have to go out and explore the environment. You do put your kids in the front paddock with a whole group and an adult. But your eyes have got to be on them the whole time. But sadly the supervision will break down, and that is why we rely on our barriers. Barriers are your backup. The backup to that moment you are distracted."

"Sadly when a drowning happens the community often turns towards the family and says 'it's your fault'. The grief journey is very difficult, especially when you've lost a child to drowning, because it is a stigmatised death. We just need to prevent it."

"As my husband says, there is no cure for drowning, only prevention...supervise with your eyes, not your ears, you can't hear drowning", Kat Plint.