At approximately 17h00 on Friday 14 July 2017, Netcare 911 responded to reports of a drowning in a swimming pool at a residence in Bantry Bay, Cape Town.
When Netcare 911 arrived at the scene, another Advanced Life Support paramedic was already attending to the child. Reports from the scene alleged that the 3 year old boy was playing with his brother at the time of the incident and was discovered unresponsive in the pool. The paramedic initiated the resuscitation and performed CPR on the small child and fortunately after a short period of time the child began to breath by himself again.
Treatment continued and the boy along with his mom were transported by Netcare 911 ambulance to hospital for further assessment and care.
The local Fire Department were also at the scene.
Young children can drown in a very small amount of water in and around the home. There are also many other potential dangers in and around your home, some of these but not all of them are easily mitigated.
By their nature, children of all ages land themselves up in all sorts of trouble and this often leads to serious injuries or potentially death.
Parents and child minders are encouraged to undertake first aid and CPR training and refresher courses so that they are adequately prepared to assist if the need arises.
Basic training could save the life of a loved one or a stranger.
Look for an accredited first aid training centre in your local telephone directory or online.
Regards,
Nick Dollman
Media Liaison Inland
Netcare Limited