British woman dies in hotel pool
A 68-year-old British woman died in a swimming pool at a hotel in Triq il-Merluzz, Qawra, this afternoon.
The police said the incident happened at around 2.15 p.m.
The woman found herself in difficulty while she was swimming. She was given first aid by people who were on the spot but the efforts to save her proved futile.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke is holding an inquiry.
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33 Comments
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mark amey
Jul 5th 2010, 16:31
As the son of the Lady involed,I'd like to point out that as of yet it's not been proven as to weather my Mother "found herself in diffeculty" past out or fell in the pool in the build up to her untimley death.In fact no wittness can put an exact time on the last sitting of my mother up to an hour before her death.This is proving to be very difficult to come to terms with insuch a busy hotel as the Dolman at such a peck time of the day. Should anyone have anymore information that maybe of interest to myself and my family please contact me on the following number. 07980695239 I would be very greatfull to fill in any blanks and put this matter to rest.
mike azzopardi
Jun 15th 2010, 09:55
I don't think this issue of teaching everyone first aid and cpr will be of 100% benefit. These first aiders will think they are god all mighty and will start doing cpr on everyone that they think is unconcious. A fainting episode and a hypoglycemia episode are different from an unconcious state.
An huge emphasis on recognising the ill should be enforced in all bls courses & instead of inserting the BLS in the national currculum it's better to start change to culture of when and how to use the emergency services proprely!!!
St John Ambulance
Jun 15th 2010, 19:43
When someone attends a first aid course he or she is taught how to properly assess a casualty before administering CPR or any other type of first aid.
http://www.stjohnambulancemalta.com/id13.html
RMangion
Jun 15th 2010, 22:47
@mike azzopardi
With all respect mike, but CPR is not a game, in all courses irrespective where the course is held ,one is thought when to give CPR.
My concern is more that people are afraid to use CPR, for various reasons in an eventual emergency.
J Oatmon
Jun 14th 2010, 14:03
I have asked this before, but surely the teaching 'first aid and CPR' in schools is part of the curicculum?
Or is 'first aid and CPR' thought to be un-necessary in Maltese schools?
RMangion
Jun 14th 2010, 21:25
@ J Oatmon.
I do not believe it is included however a petition is being signed to include this in the curriculum. There is also a facebook group. I have said this before in another article, I used to watch these reality tv 911 programmes. A paramedic thought basic life support to his son ( a teenager 11-12) and during class the teacher had a cardiac arrest and went unconscious. The child's CPR saved him :)
Food for thought !!
A Buhagiar
Jun 14th 2010, 09:49
Adding to the comment of St John Ambulance, please note that the RLSS (Royal Life Saving Society) Malta Branch offers Life Saving techniques for everyone (from the age of 14 onwards) .
http://www.rlssmalta.org/
Margaret White
Jun 14th 2010, 09:59
If there was at least one of us who completed the life saving course, even 18 year old like us, the woman would not have died. its a shame that we Maltese live surrounded by sea and very very few of us know how to save someone in difficulty.
St John Ambulance
Jun 13th 2010, 23:44
What happened to this lady is sad news. Our condolences go to her family.
This time there was someone present who was able to administer first aid. Sometimes the intervention of the best medical staff cannot save someone's life. BUT, having someone on site able to give first aid and use an AED can increase the chances of survival tremendously.
The law regulating the number of first aiders that have to be present refers to the number of employees, there is no law which stipulates how many (if any) first aiders should be present for the guests in a hotel or other buildings such as schools or public gatherings.
It is up to each and everyone of us to prepare ourselves for an emergency. We all should learn first aid and we should also train in the use of AEDs. However AEDs need to be made readily available at various establishments while first aid can be done without any special equipment.
http://www.stjohnambulancemalta.com/id13.html
R.Mangion
Jun 14th 2010, 11:01
Companies now can benefit from funds available from ETC through the TAF scheme in fact, so this should be easier .
N Schembri
Jun 13th 2010, 21:36
Certain comments posted on this discussion board unfortunately are an embarrassment to the Maltese nation - a nation that claims to pride itself as a member of the EU! The management of any establishment that offers facilities where water is involved should have a duty to its patrons to save guard their lives. Lifeguards are not an extravagance! They save lives! Lifeguards are found in every area i.e one next to the adult pool, another for the toddler pool, and another one acting as a backup in all the council pools I've visited here in the UK including the University pool I attend. Plus no it doesn't take courage to perform CPR; whoever is competent of performing CPR shouldn't need courage to perform it; it should come as second nature. Health professionals don't need courage to perform these acts; it's their job; first aiders should take on the same role even if they're not health professionals themselves. So yes may I raise my hat to whoever's performed "first aid" for having carried out their duty to society; but I do plea that we take this matter seriously if we want to see our country in the front-line of tourism.
K Pace
Jun 13th 2010, 21:15
As far as I know, there has to be a person able to give basic first aid whenever there might be 50 persons in a place at the same time and a First Aid room when it is normal that there are more persons present. This does not relate to hotels only but office blocks, banks, etc. I doubt how much it is put in practice, though.
R Mangion
Jun 14th 2010, 08:57
It depends on the hotel , I know that the radisson hotels have an AED and fully qualified first aiders. OTher hotels do not even have a basic first aid kit
J. Micallef
Jun 13th 2010, 21:03
Whilst i feel sorry for this old lady, please let me tell you that I worked in the front office of a well popular 4 star hotel and nobody, not even the head of departments knew how to tackle a simple fire alarm ........ let alone to save a life.
And none of us were ever given a tour around the hotel to know where are the best exit points in case of emergence.
And no security was ever available, because all this is a waste of money for the hotel.
By the way we had rooms costing Eur 90 per person per night on bed & b'fast basis !!!!!
mario aquilina
Jun 13th 2010, 20:24
Dear Walter, my point is that you do not have to,' T'irringrazzja l'Mulej,.......................bla,bla,bla', as C.Galea stated.
mario aquilina
Jun 13th 2010, 18:06
@ C. Galea
Another person who thinks that we Maltese are God's Gift.
I happened to be with a Maltese friend of mine, at one of the French ports, when my friend told me that he is feeling unwell, and where I thought that he was having a heart attack. He got checked by the port doctor on duty, and instead of waiting for an ambulance, the doctor got an available fire engine, that rushed my mate to the local hospital where he was kept for four days.
I was allowed to hang around his room, and at night I was given a bed after midnight on a condition, that I will have to give it back if needed.
Thanks to the E111, the charges where on the house.
G Caruana
Jun 13th 2010, 18:41
The E 111 card means that the Maltese government paid France the bill of your friend's hospitalisation!
walter calleja
Jun 13th 2010, 19:09
dear mr aqauilina you were in port and not a hotel, therfore as you might know a port has to have a port medical doctor!!!
you are out of point sir!!
i think dr jolsin's comment is the most appropriate one.
@ jesmond abela, a&e nurses might wish to have more training , however they wre given courses liek the PHEC. most of them do take courses on their own initiave like als, ils etc etc
@ janice caruana .... the courses you mentioned are already given. In all maltese hospitals, public and private basic fire fighting and lifting and handling are already being gien.
Christine Goodwin
Jun 13th 2010, 19:31
Yes Mr G Caruana and when i was last in Malta and fractured my wrist the British government paid Malta the bill for my treatment. Your point is?
G Caruana
Jun 13th 2010, 21:44
My point, Ms Goodwin, is that Mr Aquilina said 'Thanks to E111, the charges where (sic) on the house'
This is incorrect because the Maltese Government paid for his friend's healthcare and they were NOT 'on the house'. ('On the house' means free because the French Government paid.)
That is my point, Ms Goodwin, I hope that you appreciate the extra explanation to enable you to grasp the point. Good evening.
J. van Loes
Jun 14th 2010, 00:29
Same here we are from the \netherlands and the first thing they asked us is for the E111 blue card, which means our government too pays malta for our treatment. IN Maltese hospital, nothing is free in your country. So whats the problem?
Nick Falzon
Jun 14th 2010, 13:33
What a shame for this poor woman and her family. She was probably enjoying a lovely holiday in Malta. Terrible tragedy.
On another note, Malta and the UK have a long-standing agreement in place regarding medical treatment.
British people get free treatement on the Malta NHS, Maltese people get free treatment on the British NHS.
Simple as that.
No EU documents required.
Dr. Jonathan Joslin
Jun 13th 2010, 17:14
All hotels especially those having beach concessions should ensure that a percentage of their staff are proficient in delivering basic life support (BLS) and have have knowledge on how to deal with cardiac arrest, drowning, choking and stemming of bleeding wounds. The narrow mindedness shown by Mr Curmi is what kills people in need of assistance.
mark cassar
Jun 13th 2010, 17:30
i totally agree with dr joslin's comments. just a question: would you also recommend the isntallation of and aed even near pool areas ?
Jesmond Abela
Jun 13th 2010, 17:40
Dear Dr Joslin,
While it is of vital importance that hotels have trained staff able to deliver BLS, it is also essential that the much able nurses of the casualty dept. at Mater Dei hospital, receive the necessary training that they deserve and continue to advance their knowledge. I still cannot understand that nursing staff at the casualty dept. has to go through hard time for basic training with NO acknowledgments for what they achieve.
janice caruana
Jun 13th 2010, 18:49
@ jesmond abela
totally agree. not just the A & E nurses who have been waiting years for some trainng, but even nurses of other wards like handling & lifting courses for whose who work in medical wards, fire controll and RELAISTIC fire drill using the back stairs and propper fire escape
Ivon Spencer
Jun 13th 2010, 22:56
As a nurse who works in the pre hospital setting, I would like to explain that we are all well trained in offering the best pre-hospital care and all eager to learn more skills to continue saving lives. When a cardiac arrest happens, time is critical and getting an AED and professional help as fast a possible on site is of paramount importance. What could surely help is to get as many lay people as possible to take up First aid courses so life can be preserved until we professionals arrive on site to help.
Charlie micallef
Jun 13th 2010, 15:39
Do the hotels in Malta employ advanced first aiders to watch over guests especially elderly ones?
Vanessa Mifsud
Jun 13th 2010, 15:55
No, they see it as a waste of money since it doesn't happen that often. The company usually arrange for 1st aid courses to be given to a number of Employees from different departments within the same hotel. However, remember that by performing 'correct' CPR, it doesn't mean that you are sure that you will save the casualty (That only happens in movies), so i praise those who tried helping out as it takes a lot of courage to perform CPR. Nonetheless, I strongly agree with you that there should be someone employed to give 1st aid before medical assistance arrives.
A. Briffa
Jun 13th 2010, 16:16
with this your way of reasoning, should the government provide first aiders in all of malta and gozo's beaches?
paul curmi
Jun 13th 2010, 16:17
what do you mean an adavnced first aid? don't tell me you are now instigating beach hotels should have a lifeguard on duty !!!! give us a break !!
Louise Cassar
Jun 13th 2010, 17:21
Uhm Paul Curmi, yes there should be! Always! However, I think that the gov should provide the service on public beaches, private beaches and swimming pools should employ their own first aiders.
C Galea
Jun 13th 2010, 17:28
Yes sure, why not? All hotels in Malta should have their own medical staff consisting of a surgeon, two doctors, five nurses and a number of nursing aides. Also they should have their own ambulance, operating teather and if possible a small clinic and pharmacy as well. This is what all hotels around the world do have don't they? And I forgot to mention, they also provide this service for free. Sic..............tirringrazzja l-Mulej li jkollok il-flus fil but jekk accidentalment jinqalalek xi haga barra minn Malta ghax hemm ihalluk titmerrmer minghajr ma hadd jaghti kasek!