NEW 'LEARN TO SWIM CLUB' PROMOTES WATER SAFETY MESSAGE

WITH drowning being the third largest cause of accidental deaths amongst children in the UK, water safety education is an important activity that needs to be learnt by toddlers, children and adults to ensure accidents are avoided and essential life saving skills are developed. 

During this year's Child Safety Week, the Swimming Teachers' Association (STA) will be focusing on water safety education and improving awareness by launching the new 'Learn to Swim Club' in conjunction with HIT Entertainment's Rubbadubbers(tm) (BBC's and CBeebies popular children's TV programme). 

To launch the first stage of the 'Learn to Swim Club', the STA has designed a new registration website and produced a 16 page booklet, which is aimed at helping parents educate their children about water safety in the home and garden, when visiting a pool and other sites of potential danger including rivers, canals, lakes and beaches. Each chapter is also illustrated with a character from the successful pre-school animation series, Rubbadubbers, as well as providing supporting safety information for parents. Along with this, there are games and puzzles for children to enjoy which help to reinforce the water safety message.


Designed for pre-school children, the booklet also supports the STA's new 'First Steps' Swimming Series, by ensuring that parents understand each stage of the learn to swim programme, and to help them monitor their child's progress. 


The 'First Steps' Swimming Series, has been specifically designed by the STA to teach pre-school children, from as young as 2 years old, to learn to swim through 14 progressive and achievable steps. The series features all the characters from Rubbadubbers, including Tubb, Terence, Reg, Winona, Amelia, Sploshy and Finbar, who all have their very own award according to swimming ability. Certificates and badges are all themed as one of these fun characters.

Furthermore, on registering with the 'Learn to Swim Club', children will receive a free Rubbadubbers magic face cloth, and after completing 8 steps of the 'First Steps Series' are eligible for a free Rubbadubbers Video Sizzler. When all 14 steps are achieved, children are awarded with a special STA badge and certificate.

For further information on the 'Learn to Swim Club' and the First Steps Swimming Series, please contact the STA on 01922 645097 or visit:- www.sta.co.uk/learn_to_swim_club

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DR JOHN PUGH MP SUPPORTS GUIDE DOGS' NHS SERVICES CAMPAIGN

 

DR JOHN PUGH MP has met with guide dog owners at Westminster to find out about the difficulties they encounter using the NHS.

The MP for Southport attended the launch of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's Access for All: NHS Services Campaign on Tuesday June 8th. A report published by the charity has shown that more than half of blind and partially sighted people feel GPs need to improve some aspects of the care they provide. A third of those surveyed felt their doctor was not fully aware of their needs.

The NHS Services Report highlighted the major problems faced by people with sight loss as: limited physical assistance, limited staff awareness and a lack of information in a preferred format, such as Braille or large print.

The NHS Services Campaign will initially focus on GPs' surgeries. Guide Dogs will be carrying out access audits in a small number of surgeries to devise national agreed standards of practice. The charity then aims to offer audits and training courses to all GPs' surgeries throughout the UK.

Tom Pey, Guide Dogs' Director of Policy explained:- "We are delighted that the local MP is supporting our work to ensure that the needs of visually impaired people are met by the NHS. We are working with the health care sector to bring about these improvements."

Key findings of the NHS Services Report:-

· Up to 57% of those surveyed felt that certain aspects of the GP service were in need of improvement. Key areas cited were staff awareness and the need for prescriptions in Braille and large print.

· Of one-third (32%) of respondents who needed help in completing registration forms, assistance was provided by surgery staff in a third (10%) of these cases.

· Over half of respondents (55%) required help in finding a seat in the waiting area, yet only about half (26%) received it.

· 65% needed help getting from the waiting area to consulting room, yet just under one-third received no help.

· Over two-thirds felt their GP was unable to give them meaningful information on support services for visually impaired people.

· 95% never received health advice leaflets in preferred format such as Braille or large print.

· 96% never received letters from GPs in preferred format and 97% never received prescriptions in preferred format.

· About 40% of the population felt that their GP was not fully aware of their needs.

· More than 60% felt other staff in the surgery were not fully aware of their needs.

· Over two thirds of those surveyed were aware of the signage within the surgery, of these the majority felt this to be fairly unhelpful or not at all helpful.

Guide Dogs is recommending that improved and increased training for all NHS frontline staff is essential to help meet the needs of visually impaired people. The charity also wants to improve access to and around the surgery and improve announcement systems, as well as see greater provision of information in preferred formats.