Lifeguards are using realistic manikins in training exercises to practice rescuing people from swimming pools.
The dummies are being used by lifeguards around the world to simulate the rescue of a real person who is potentially drowning.
Produced by Ruth Lee Ltd, Europe’s top manufacturer of rescue training manikins, the newly launched Pool Rescue dummies weigh 30kg and are all hand-made in our Welsh factory.
They have been developed with assistance from the water safety charity The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) and have been tested extensively by RLSS UK trained lifeguards.
The manikins provide a realistic tool for lifeguard training for people working in leisure centres, swimming pools, hotels and clubs. They can be thrown into a pool where they quickly sink to the bottom but retain enough buoyancy to be towed effectively.
Ruth Lee Ltd has already seen its Pool Rescue Manikins snapped up by lifeguards in 17 countries including the US, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Malaysia, Estonia, Spain, Brazil and Iceland.
Sarah Hampson, Marketing and Communications Manager at Ruth Lee Ltd said:
“We make manikins which provide lifeguards with a realistic challenge. It is crucial that they learn how to safely manoeuvre people in distress in water. Our product brings together different elements of lifeguard training, allowing trainees to seamlessly practice different techniques without needing to switch between different equipment or live volunteers.
“Saving lives is a subject very close to our hearts and the leading driver in all the products we create.”
In the UK, drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in children and every year in the UK and Ireland more than 700 people drown. Hundreds more have near-drowning experiences, sometimes suffering life-changing injuries.
Over the last two years, RLSS UK have trained over 77,000 lifeguards – a vital service to tackle these figures.
Jo Talbot, Director of IQL UK, the leading provider of lifeguard training, said:
“The Pool Rescue Manikin brings a new dynamic to lifeguard training. Its weight helps lifeguards to understand how hard it is to deal with an unconscious casualty and, whereas a human will naturally help if they were falling or sliding, this manikin won’t.”
Watch the Pool Rescue Manikin in action
https://youtu.be/dgYPaeTu09M – General Information Video
https://youtu.be/viP_Z4in7pM – What Lifeguards Think Video
https://youtu.be/MffRKeKl190 – 5m test in Olympic Swimming Pool Video