Updates

The Code of Practice for the Design and Management of Aquatic Facilities (SS 556: 2010) was launched on 27 May 2010 by SLSS Hon. Advisor and National Water Safety Council Chairman Dr Teo Ho Pin. The Working Group that contributed to the development of the Code included SLSS President Richard M K Tan.

It deals with the design, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of all aquatic facilities in Singapore including swimming pools, spa pools, river rides, water slides and hydrotherapy pools. It also deals with the safety, health and hygiene issues concerning these aquatic facilities.

The Code may be purchased from Spring Singapore.

Alfred Chua

Senior Manager

The Singapore Life Saving Society

Dated 19 August 2010

Drowning in open water, such as lakes, rivers and the ocean, is a major concern around the world. An 18-member international task force from 12 countries (that included ILS president Dr Steve Beerman and SLSS president Richard M K Tan) has developed a set of guidelines for families and individuals recreating at any open water site. The guidelines are the result of a 2-year project and are available at the ILS website at the following location:

http://www.ilsf.org/index.php?q=en/news/articles/open-water-drowning-prevention-guidelines

and also at the Seattle Children's Hospital website at the following location:

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/classes-community/community-programs/drowning-prevention/open-water-guidelines/

The "Preview of the Findings of the International Task Force on Open Water Drowning" won the best poster award at the 2010 Australian Water Safety Conference in Sydney.

Alfred Chua

Senior Manager

The Singapore Life Saving Society

Dated 19 August 2010

Please be informed that in conjunction with the launch of SSC SwimSafer programme on 5 July 2010, all SLSS lifesaving trainers (i.e. Instructors and Teachers) are to adhere to the new training ratio of 1 Instructor to maximum of 10 trainees, i.e. 1:10, with immediate effect. This revised policy is imposed by SSC and they apologise for the late notice.

The same ratio will also apply to lifesaving examination, mainly the Lifesaving 1, 2 & 3 Awards where the ratio of Examiner to Candidates will also be 1:10 (even for those outside SSC pools), with immediate effect. The ratio is less for higher lifesaving awards, e.g. 1 : 4 for BM, AM and etc.. However, for any Lifesaving 1, 2 and/or 3 lifesaving exam booking that has been placed with SLSS by 12 July 2010, the nos. of candidates - if it is more than 10 nos., will not be affected by this revised policy so long if the test/s is held before 31 July 2010 (which is within 21-day booking window). Apart from this exception, any other lifesaving training and/or exam booking arrangement which may be affected by the revised policy, the trainer concerned may wish to contact SLSS office or the following SSC officer for assistance.

Should you require any clarification, please feel free to contact any of our office staff on Tel: 6299 3660 or alternatively, you may also wish to seek advice from Mr Seah Thian, Senior Manager (Operations & Planning), Facilities of SSC on Tel: 6500 5402 or via email at <Sean_THIAN@ssc.gov.sg>.

Alfred Chua
Senior Manager
The Singapore Life Saving Society

Dated 13 July 2010

Please be reminded that whenever a lifesaving examination is underway, the instructor/teacher must be present to assist in safety and to clarify any queries. Alternatively if the instructor/teacher is he/her-self a candidate, then a lifeguard/lifesaver who possesses the necessary lifesaving qualification (i.e. for swimming pool and/or open-water environment), should be deployed to take charge of the safety.

Should you require further clarification, please feel free to contact any of our office staff on Tel: 6299 3660.

Please be informed that wef 5 April 2010, the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex of Singapore Sports Council (where SLSS office is presently located) will be opened from 2.30pm on every Wednesday. As such, the SLSS office will also operate from 2.30pm onwards on every Wednesday. However, the SLSS staff will continue to take phone call and respond to emails during the said office morning closure. However, please do not visit SLSS office on Wednesday morning as assess to the swimming complex will not be allowed for unauthorised personnel.

Please contact our office on Tel: 6299 3660 should you require further information or clarification

Invitation to Volunteer

The Singapore Life Saving Society's work would not be possible without the generous help from the many volunteers who serve us in different ways and we would like to thank them for their contributions.

We would also like to take this opportunity to invite anyone who is interested to contribute to the mission of the Society to let our Senior Manager, Mr Alfred Chua, know so that we can try to involve you in our work.

Please see our website and the latest annual report for information on the various things that we do. Kindly also do not hesitate to contact Mr Alfred Chua or any of the Executive Committee members if you have any queries.

We look forward to working with you in our mission to promote lifesaving and water safety.

Richard Tan Ming Kirk
President
The Singapore Life Saving Society

Dated 26 March 2010

Dear Members, Affiliates and Friends,

Re.: Statement of Policy on Safety Issues

The Singapore Life Saving Society (SLSS) wishes to reiterate its following statement of policy (which is an extracts from our update notes) and your kind attention to it is crucial:

Statement of Policy on Safety Issues:-
The followings safety guidelines are to be adhered when conducting open-water lifesaving training:

(I)         USE OF LIFE-VEST
That as a precautionary and safety measure, LIFE-VEST should be worn as far as possible during:
        1.   All lifesaving and related activities that are conducted in open water or unsupervised aquatic environment;
        2.   All lifesaving examinations, except for tests where positive buoyancy aids are not allowed.

(II)        USE OF SAFETY BOAT (i.e. power-boat, canoe, kayak & etc.)
When lifesaving examinations, demonstrations or competitions are held in open water, a safety boat should be present. Rescuer(s) on board is to put on life-vest and equip with adequate rescue aid (i.e. rescue tube, life-buoy, rope and/or etc.)

We seek your good understanding and due compliance in the above highlights.

Alfred Chua
Senior Manager
The Singapore Life Saving Society

Please refer to our earlier update on the above captioned subject dated 7 May 2007. The SLSS is pleased to inform you that our registered lifesaving instructors may continue to apply for the usage permit for use of SSC swimming pools. This arrangement has been renewed for another year till 1 May 2009. Details of the terms and condition can be found at the following location: http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate/en/participation/hotspot/rules___regulations.html.

All lifesaving instructors are to note that at any time, the training ratio must not exceed 1 instructor : 12 trainees.

For more information, please contact the SLSS office at Tel.: 6299-3660 or via email at slss@pacific.net.sg.

The Singapore Life Saving Society would like to thank those members who have recently indicated their interest to serve the Society in the next two years. Our work would not be possible without the unselfish and generous help from our members who serve us in various ways.

We would also like to take this opportunity to invite everyone else who is interested to contribute to the Society in its work to let our Senior Manager, Mr Alfred Chua, know so that we can try to involve you in your area of interest as much as possible.

Please see our website and the latest annual report on our website for a summary of the sort of things that we do. Kindly also do not hesitate to contact Mr Alfred Chua or me if you have any queries.

We look forward to working with you in our mission to promote aquatic safety and lifesaving.

Yours faithfully

The Singapore Life Saving Society supports the move by the National Water Safety Council to introduce a national Water Safety Code and requests all its members, affiliates, instructors, teachers and examiners to promote and use it in their water safety and lifesaving activities. The Water Safety Code is reproduced below for your convenient reference:

At the Asia Pacific Life Saving Conference held in Carlton Hotel on 4 August 2007, Mr Alan Whelpton presented Citations of Merit to 3 individual members of the Singapore Life Saving Society in recognition of their devotion to the cause of lifesaving. They are:

Mr Milton Tan
Mr Milton Tan stepped down as president of the Singapore Life Saving Society in 2004 after close to 40 years of outstanding service. He led the society since its earliest days and contributed in countless ways to the success of the society. He has been given numerous honours for his work in lifesaving including the HRH Prince Michael of Kent Certificate of Merit

Mr Woon Sui Kut
Mr Woon is the president of the society and has been involved in lifesaving in Singapore since the 1940s. He has promoted both swimming and lifesaving in Singapore and has built on the on the good work done by Mr Milton Tan.

Mr Richard Tan Ming Kirk
Mr Richard Tan is the honorary secretary general of the society and has been involved in lifesaving since 1975. He has helped to develop many new initiatives for the society including the its programme of free lifesaving clinics for the public. He is also a contributor to the Handbook of Drowning, the leading international reference book on drowning and has been consulted by many organisations including the World Health Organisation.

We are happy that the good work of members of the Singapore Life Saving Society have been recognised by these and many other honours including the 2001 Singapore National Youth Award and the 2002 Commonwealth Youth Services Award.

Alfred Chua
Manager
The Singapore Life Saving Society

Dated 18 May 2007

Please refer to our earlier update on the above captioned subject dated 6 June 2006. The SLSS is pleased to inform you that our registered lifesaving instructors may continue to apply for the usage permit for use of SSC swimming pools. This arrangement has been renewed for another year till 1 May 2008. Details of the terms and condition can be found at the following location: http://www.ssc.gov.sg/SportsWeb/sw_cat_details.jsp?type=9&artID=5512&root=31&cat=116 .

All lifesaving instructors are to note that at any time, the training ratio must not exceed 1 instructor : 12 trainees.

For more information, please contact the SLSS office at Tel.: 6299-3660 or via email at slss@pacific.net.sg.

I have pleasure in informing our members and affiliates that an article on the preparation of volunteers for deployment in emergencies by our Honorary Secretary General, Mr Richard Tan Ming Kirk, has been published in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management Vol 21 No 4 (November 2006 issue). Many of the points made in the article are relevant for the deployment of volunteer lifeguards.

The Australian Journal of Emergency Management is an international journal included in the International Directory of Open Access Journals managed by Lund Universities Libraries, Sweden.

The article may be read online at the Australian Journal of Emergency Management's website at the following location on the internet:

Please note that the SLSS Executive Committee is in support of a proposal by the Head of Examination & Accreditation Unit (EAU) and First Aid & Resuscitation Unit (FARU) to postpone the implementation of new CPR protocol, as recommended by the National Resuscitation Council (NRC), to 1 January 2007. Details of this CPR protocol can be found at http://www.nhc.com.sg/ForDoctorsNHealthcareProfessionals/CPRTraining/ .

For the avoidance of doubt w.e.f. 1 January 2007 the resuscitation protocol in aquatic lifesaving will remain unchanged but once the victim is on land, the new CPR protocol should be followed.

Please feel free to contact our office staff on Tel.: 6299-3660 or email to us at slss@pacific.net.sg, should you require further information or clarification.

Please note that the SLSS Executive Committee is in support of a proposal by the Head of First Aid & Resuscitation Unit (FARU) to adopt and implement the new CPR protocol, as recommended by the National Resuscitation Council (NRC), wef 1 July 2006 with a 3 month phase in period. Details of this CPR protocol can be found at http://www.nhc.com.sg/ForDoctorsNHealthcareProfessionals/CPRTraining/.

Update workshops will also be conducted by Head of FARU to facilitate the implementation. Please contact our office staff on Tel.: 6299-3660 or email to us at slss@pacific.net.sg if you are interested to attend the workshop.

Should you require further information or clarification, please feel free to contact any of our office staff with the above given number.

Please note that with immediate effect, all lifesaving training that is conducted at swimming pools run by the SSC will need to comply with the terms and condition of the SSC Usage Permit. Details of the terms and conditions are found at the following location: http://www.ssc.gov.sg/SportsWeb/sw_cat_details.jsp?type=9&artID=5512&root=31&cat=116 .

Lifesaving Instructor-Trainees will need a mentor who is a SLSS registered lifesaving instructor or teacher, to apply for the usage permit. For the time being, these Instructor-Trainees will not be required to pay the $60 permit fee until further notice and subject to rules on pool usage of the SSC. Instructor-Trainee must be supervised by a mentor, who must possess the usage permit, at all times when conducting lifesaving training. The mentor will be responsible for the well-being and safety of the lifesaving trainees and the Instructor-trainee he is supervising. The mentor will be required to sign a declaration form which is available from Ms Maliga Thangavelu of SSC Sports Recreation Centre, to this effect.

For more information, please contact the SLSS office at Tel.: 6299-3660 or via email at slss@pacific.net.sg.

Further to our notice of 29 June 2005 on the above subject, the SLSS receive feedback from a number of our affiliates requesting for preparatory trainings to be conducted for the open-water lifesaving championship at Sentosa beach, where the championship will be held. The SLSS has subsequently consulted the management of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) and is pleased to inform our affiliates that the SDC will be assisting SLSS to store 4 rescue boards at Sentosa Palawan Beach. These boards will be made available for training purpose by our affiliates. Affiliates that wish to request for use of the boards are to email to SLSS with information as stipulated in our 29 June 2005 article, and to observe the rules and regulations set by SDC, when assessing the beach and also the safety of other beach users. Affiliates that have been given the approval of use of rescue board(s), will be notified of person-to-contact (as appointed by the SLSS) at Palawan Beach.

The SLSS has been storing rescue and other equipment, including four rescue boards, at the Changi Lifeguard Hut of Singapore Life Guard Corps (SLGC), for use by SLSS affiliates and members. The SLSS currently imposes no charge for their use by affiliates and members but this is currently under review.

To ensure proper accountability in the event of loss or damage, all SLSS affiliates and members are to take note that with immediate effect, they must apply for written permission to use these boards via email (slss@pacific.net.sg) or fax (Tel.: 6348-5160) to SLSS, giving at least a week's notice. Information required for the application are :

1. Name of Affiliate/Member :
2. Name of Authorized Officer-In-Charge :
3. Contact Number(s) : Tel.(Ofc) : (Home) : (Mobile) :
4. Date of Visiting to SLGC Changi Hut or Sentosa Palawan Beach (Please specify):
5. Time Slot of Usage Applying for :
6. Purpose of Visit :
7. Nos. of Trainess :
8. Nos. of Rescue Board Requested :
9. Other Remark(s) :

Approval will be be emailed or faxed (as the case may be) and it should be presented to the officer on duty at the SLGC Changi Lifeguard Hut at the relevant time. Please note that only SLSS equipment is allowed to be stored at the SLGC Changi Lifeguard Hut and personal belongings of SLSS affiliates and members should not be stored there without the separate consent of the SLGC. At present, it is understood that the SLGC Changi Lifeguard Hut is open only on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Owing to the limited equipment available, reservation for use of rescue boards will be allocated based on first-come-first-served basis. Training ratio is recommended to be 6 trainees to a rescue board over a 2-hour training duration. Therefore, each application is limited to two-hour use unless otherwise permitted, e.g. where there is a large group of trainees. The person-in-charge of such application must be a SLSS member or an authorized officer from the registered affiliate and ensure that the information provided in the application is correct. The SLSS reserves the right to reject any application.

As the SLGC will be requested to assist the SLSS in checking the condition of the boards, all applicants should liaise with the SLGC duty officer or hut keeper when taking out and returning the boards. The permitted user or applicant will be held responsible for the repair or replacement cost of any board or equipment used.

Affiliates and members are also kindly reminded to respect SLGC rules when utilizing their hut facilities.

On a separate note, the SLGC Executive Committee has informed SLSS that with immediate effect, the SLGC will levy a fee for the loan of canoe (single or double seater) at both Changi Rescue Hut and East Coast Park Rescue Centre at the flat rate of $5.00 per hour per canoe. There is no charge at the moment for paddle and life-jacket. Advance booking of ten (10) days notice with payment to the SLGC is needed. As requested by SLGC, the SLSS will assist SLGC in collecting the canoe rental fee. Booking for use of SLGC canoes can be placed to Mr Daryl Tan at "kiokwei@singnet.com.sg" or to the SLGC Hon. Secretary at "slgc50@hotmail.com".

For more information, please contact the SLSS office at Tel.: 6299-3660 or via email at slss@pacific.net.sg.

Please note that we have requested the Singapore Sports Council ("SSC") to reconsider their position on the prohibition of lifesaving training and examination at SSC pools on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

We are pleased to inform you that the SSC will look into the matter further and that in the meantime, if there is a need to conduct lifesaving training and examination at SSC pools on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the respective Centre Manager/Assistant Centre Manager should be approached for permission before the training or examination takes place. We are also given to understand that the SSC will not unreasonably withhold their permission. However, they would like to request that lifesaving instructors try their best to avoid having lifesaving training and examination on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

If you encounter any problems or issues, please let us have your feedback so that we may raise them in our further discussions with the SSC.

Thank you.

The SLSS recommends that all lifesavers and lifeguards be reminded of the risks of cross infection in the course of training or performing lifesaving, first aid and resuscitation if they do not use barriers like resuscitation face shields or masks and surgical gloves. Therefore, the SLSS would advise these to be used as far as possible. When conducting training, alcohol swaps or sterilizing agents should also be used to clean and sterilize the training equipment.

Should anyone require details of purchasing the above items, please feel free to contact the society staff at Tel.: 6299-3660.

1 July 2004

To All Instructors, Teachers & Examiners

Dear All,

RE.: REGISTRATION OF INSTRUCTORS, TEACHERS & EXAMINERS

As mentioned earlier, the Singapore Life Saving Society (SLSS) is embarking on an exercise to register only instructors, teachers and examiners who are active and up to date with developments. Together with registration comes the obligation to attend continuing education and training and to maintain an acceptable standard in all relevant respects. If not, the person may have his registration suspended or de-registered or registration may not be renewed subsequently. All these are necessary in order to maintain and enhance the position of the SLSS as the recognised controlling body and authority on water safety and lifesaving in Singapore.

Everyone who holds an SLSS certificate as an instructor, teacher or examiner is invited to apply for registration. Please contact the SLSS office to request for a registration form and submit it as soon as possible if you wish to be registered. Alternatively, you may use the attached application form. Based, on the completed form, the applicant will be informed whether he needs to attend any update course and whether he needs to attend an interview before he can be registered. Depending on demand and other circumstances, the SLSS will organise an update course before October 2004 and another before the end of the year. There are some fees involved to cover the various costs but the SLSS will try to keep them as low as possible.

Please note that with effect from 1 October 2004, only registered instructors, teachers and examiners will be recognised by the SLSS as having active status.

If there are any queries, please contact the Manager of the Society, Mr Alfred Chua.

Thank you.

RICHARD TAN MING KIRK
Honorary Secretary General
The Singapore Life Saving Society

The following is the new clause on the validity of all SLSS Lifesaving Certificates (with the exception of the SLSS CPR and Lifesaving First Aid Certificates and the proposed Occupational First Aid Certificate) with effect from 1 December 2003, [All lifesaving certificates will still carry the date of issue and exam reference no. as usual.]

"All awards of the Singapore Life Saving Society are issued in recognition of the holder's attainment of the specified level of competency at the time of the issue of the award."

I have pleasure in informing our members and affiliates that a study on the epidemiology of drowning in Singapore and drowning prevention measures by our Hon. Secretary General, Mr Richard Tan Ming Kirk, has been published in the Singapore Medical Journal Vol 45 No 7 (July 2004 issue).

The Singapore Medical Journal is a leading medical journal in this region. It is indexed in Medline and the United States of America National Library of Medicine's Pubmed system.

The article may be read online at the Singapore Medical Journal's website at http://www.sma.org.sg/smj/4507/4507a3.pdf.