The three associations have submitted a proposal to parliament for a regime “not yet in existence” that regulates the safety of swimming pools in tourist complexes, local housing, condominiums and private homes to try to reduce child mortality.
“There is only specific legislation and regulations for swimming pools installed in places of water entertainment,” warned DECO, one of the three organizations that sent a graduation proposal to parliamentary groups on Tuesday.
Swimming pools installed in local residences, condominiums and private premises for purely domestic use “have no rules,” according to the document, which was also developed by the Portuguese Association of Swimming Pool Professionals (APP) and the Association for the Promotion of Safety. Children’s (APSI).
Faced with “insufficient” or “blank” legislation for most types of pools, the three associations want pools to have mandatory protection systems to prevent children from drowning, according to a proposal that Luza had access to.
Safety must be provided by a watchdog with lifeguards, water rescue devices or protective equipment, with requirements varying depending on the type of pool.
In some cases, such as municipal and sports pools, the presence of lifeguards and life-saving equipment will become mandatory, while others, such as local residential pools, will require water rescue devices and protective equipment.
The proposal clarifies that the means of protection may be vertical or horizontal physical barriers, shelters or signaling.
Access to swimming pools “should be protected by technical solutions that delay and prevent direct access, lifting and crossing of young children, aimed at reducing the risk of drowning”, but this protective equipment cannot constitute a “visual obstacle to observation from space, nor prevent quick rescue,” the proposal also says.
In the supplement to the proposed diploma, the associations remind that “child drowning is a quick, silent event that can occur in very little water; it is the second most common cause of death by accident in Portugal under the age of 18.”
Statistics show that “drowning is still one of the most common causes of death of children in an accident in Portugal”: over the past 11 years, an average of nine children died and another 22 were hospitalized after drowning, with pools being the water. aircraft with a high number of incidents.”
Due to the pandemic, the number of child drowning deaths has risen to 14 in 2020 and 12 in 2021.
The associations also recall a case in France, where legislation passed in 2003 mandating the installation of protective equipment in all swimming pools reduced drowning deaths.
“Over 15 years, these measures have reduced the ratio between the number of accidents and the number of pools by 10 times,” the associations say.