‘I don’t feel safe’ ... no trust in Discovery Bay lifeguards despite new pool safety measures
Discovery Bay operator says it has reminded pool operator of the importance of its lifeguards following safety procedures following two ‘near drownings’
Parents and Club Siena members have dismissed new measures to boost poolside safety following two incidents at the Discovery Bay facility, insisting lifeguards could not be relied upon.
Anger and criticism continued after two children had to be rescued by people other than lifeguards after getting into difficulties in the pool on two occasions last week.
In its first comments, Hong Kong Resort, which operates the luxury leisure complex, said it was “deeply concerned” about the incident and had drafted further precaution measures to “avoid similar incidents in the future”.
“Immediate action taken by the club included further fine tuning of the posting of lifeguard stands and increasing the number of routine patrols over the pools,” a spokeswoman for Hong Kong Resort said.
Hong Kong Resort said it had met with its unnamed contractor, which operates the lifeguard services, to “reinforce” the importance of safety and operational procedures.
The company added that the majority of the “professionally qualified” lifeguards possessed at least three years’ experience, but did not comment on whether any member of staff was disciplined over the most serious incident last Friday when a “lifeless” boy was pulled from the swimming pool and rushed to hospital.
The boy was now in a stable condition, a spokeswoman for Princess Margaret Hospital said on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong and Kowloon Lifeguards’ Union on Sunday raised concerns about the varying qualities of lifeguards at private swimming pools, claiming that some staff – but not necessarily at Club Siena – had no experience.
Parents remained dissatisfied over the quality of the lifeguards and doubted the training received.
Stella Eloff, a mother of one who witnessed the incident on Friday, said: “I don’t feel safe to trust the lifeguards. They need to prove first they will not just freeze up if there are emergencies.”
Another club member and parent, a father of two, who asked not to be named, said: “Any parent that arrives at the swimming pool in the belief that lifeguards are going to look after them is quite frankly neglecting the health and safety of their children.
“I would never turn over responsibility of my children at a pool to lifeguards. You’re just absolving your responsibility as a parent. They could put 30 lifeguards at the pool and it would still be incredibly irresponsible not to look after your children in a busy pool.”
