Portsmouth researcher joins call for UK government to appoint Minister responsible for lifesaving water safety

The National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) has issued an urgent appeal to the UK government to appoint a Minister responsible for drowning prevention, after the release of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) groundbreaking Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention.

This study is the first of its kind to comprehensively measure drowning risks and response efforts worldwide. It highlights drowning as a silent epidemic, claiming over 300,000 lives globally in 2021, and almost 600 in the UK in 2022. 

The NWSF, via its Secretariat at RoSPA, provided crucial UK data required for inclusion in the report, collating information from representatives across the UK, including devolved governments.

While the UK outperforms global averages, data from the UK’s Water Incident Database (WAID) show that, despite initial positive progress and ongoing collaboration across relevant agencies, figures for accidental drowning deaths in the UK have remained largely static since 2019, with a slight increase in 2023 likely due to increased participation in water-based activities following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The UK government has yet to formally adopt all critical recommendations from the UN Assembly’s 2021 Resolution. Devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have each assigned responsibility for drowning prevention to a named government Minister. Scotland’s Drowning Prevention Strategy has driven a 10 per cent reduction in accidental drowning fatalities since 2019. 

NWSF Chair, Professor Mike Tipton from the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments Laboratory (School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences), said: “Effective drowning prevention can only be achieved by a concerted, co-ordinated and optimised approach between relevant agencies, from science to search, rescue and treatment. 

“The National Water Safety Forum aims to achieve this. The critical work of the NWSF would be greatly assisted by a ministerial focal point for this area. Drowning prevention needs to be prioritised, and needless drowning deaths and injuries prevented.”

The NWSF’s call echoes the recommendations of RoSPA’s recent report, Safer Lives, Stronger Nation, which urges the UK government to adopt a National Accident Prevention Strategy. 

CEO of RoSPA, Rebecca Hickman, said: “To RoSPA, the World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Drowning Prevention is a groundbreaking call to action, emphasising the urgent need to address drowning as a significant global health challenge. Our organisation is deeply committed to preventing drowning incidents, and this report underscores the importance of the proactive measures we have championed. 

“Our recent Safer Lives, Stronger Nation report highlights key policy data-led recommendations, including strengthening water safety education and implementing a national water safety plan from 2026. By working together and introducing these evidence-based solutions, we can save lives and build safer communities across the UK.”

Professor Tipton has spent four decades working on thermoregulation, environmental and occupational physiology, and the selection, preparation and protection of those who enter extreme environments. One of the most impactful areas of his research lies in his work on drowning prevention. Their efforts have given rise to 'Respect the Water', a national water safety campaign initiated by the RNLI in 2014.

He was also recently awarded the prestigious role of President-Elect by The Physiological Society (TPS). He will begin his one-year appointment in November 2025 during the Society's 150th birthday, becoming President of the Learned Society a year later.

Meanwhile, life-saving physiological research at Portsmouth’s Extreme Environment Laboratory (EEL) was awarded the Excellence in Physiology Award by TPS last year, making the laboratory the first to be given this prestigious award.