Developing lifeguard skills in Oman
According to the World Health Organisation every hour of every day more than 40 people lose their lives to drowning worldwide. It is a serious public health issue which claims the lives of 372,000 people across the globe each year.
While Royal Life Saving Society WA works hard to reduce drowning in our own backyard, we’re also determined to assist where we can in reducing drowning incidents across the globe.
In 2011 staff from Royal Life Saving Society WA were invited to Muscat, Oman to train lifeguards at the Ras al Hamra Recreation Centre for the Petroleum Development of Oman (PDO) company. The recreation centre is not open to the public, but is designed specifically for the use of staff and families of people who work at PDO. The company employs expats from right around the world and the pool at the Ra el Hamra Recreation centre is a very popular place for them to gather due to the constantly warm to hot weather in the region.
The lifeguard training conducted by Royal Life Saving Society WA has seen lifeguards from various nations, including Oman, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka learn skills that are vital in enabling them to ensure the safety of those using the centre. The training has provided them with skills in pool supervision, basic and advanced water rescues, oxygen resuscitation, spinal management and first aid.
Royal Life Saving Society WA’s Manager Vocational Training, Steve Good, will return to Oman to complete a Pool Lifeguard requalification course with these lifeguards in October this year, but in the meantime we’re pleased to see that they are independently completing training sessions to ensure their skills are kept up to date.
Recently Steve received photographs from the team in Oman, showing their amazingly pro-active approach to their work, with a group including Jayantha, Gopakumar, Thilak, Yousef, Rose, Emmie and Erlinda taking part in a skill development session. These ongoing sessions ensure the lifeguards skills are sharp and well-practiced, enabling them to be confident in their vital work of keeping patrons at the recreation centre safe.
We look forward to further building on these skills during October’s requalification visit, and are proud of this team for the dedication they show to their vitally important vocation.