BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
According to a study released this week by the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Sudbury region reported the highest rate of emergency department visits due to water-related injury incidents, with 11.8 incidents per 100,000 people.
The lowest rate of emergency department visits due to water-related injuries was reported in the Toronto region, which had a rate of 4.6 incidents per 100,000 people.
?Obviously, we?re aware of it (the high water-related injury rate),? says Sean Barrette, media relations officer for Sudbury Regional Hospital.
?This was the reason why a few weeks ago the emergency department issued an advisory around water safety. They advised people, in the summer, to be careful around bodies of water...This is similar to advisories we?d issue around ATVs and snowmobiles ? just advising caution.?
Sudburians spend a lot of time around lakes, so they?re obviously at risk of getting injured, says Barrette.
SRH is concerned about these statistics. ?Any time you?re seeing trauma come through your doors, and you?re the regional emergency department, then certainly something like this would be a concern. You recognize that there are certain seasons where you?re going to see certain kinds of
injuries and traumas, and you advise people accordingly,? he says.
The City of Greater Sudbury is actively working to prevent drownings and other water-related injuries by teaching water safety in swimming programs, says Ted Durbatz, manager of aquatics for the city.
But while lifeguards are able to prevent a lot of incidents at public beaches and pools, there?s no way they can patrol all of Sudbury?s 320 lakes, he says.
?We feel it doesn?t take place where we have supervisory staff. What supervisory staff do is prevent accidents, and promote public safety. And then, if an accident does take place, they?re certainly trained to respond.?
Durbatz agrees with Barrette that water-related injury rates are high in the Sudbury area because there are many lakes in the area and people spend a lot of time around them.
?The frequency of usage is a factor in this type of study. If you only have one beach and one lake and one pool in a municipality, naturally your water accidents are going to be less than in a place like Sudbury,? he says.
The study also shows that drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among Ontario children under age five. They are involved in more drowning or near-drowning incidents than any other age group.
The manager stresses that parents should always keep their young children in sight when they?re near water.
?There?s no substitute for parental supervision of children in and around water at all times. A moment or second?s loss of attention supervising your children on the water could cause tragic results,? he says.
Everyone in Ontario and Canada should be taught to swim, says Durbatz. He applauds Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett for attempting to set up a program
to teach all Canadian children to swim.
