Professor Mike Tipton will use his decades of experience to support the UK voluntary network with its efforts to reduce water-related deaths and associated harm
Professor Mike Tipton from the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments Laboratory, School of Psychology, Sport and Health Sciences has begun his new role as the chair of the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF).
The NWSF is a UK-focused, voluntary network, working together in order to reduce water-related deaths and associated harm. It was established in 2004 following a Government review into water safety to bring together a number of pre-existing national groups with the ambition of creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for the prevention of drowning and water safety harm in the UK.
The forum is hosted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and directed by a Coordinating Group, which is comprised of representatives from NWSF Advisory Groups along with specific members representing the following organisations: RNLI, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, National Fire Chiefs Council, RoSPA, RLSS UK, Water Safety Scotland and Water Safety Wales.
The purpose of the chair is to provide leadership and promote consensus in order to ensure that the NWSF’s objectives are achieved in line with its governance. Professor Tipton has spent four decades working in the area of drowning prevention, environmental and occupational physiology. His work and that of his colleagues in EEL underpins much of the current practice in areas such as drowning prevention, education, protection, search, rescue and treatment of drowning casualties.
One of the most impactful areas of his research lies in his work on drowning prevention. The work has given rise to 'Respect the Water' and ‘Float to Live’ national water safety campaigns initiated by the RNLI. These have successfully increased public understanding of the importance of floating as a primary survival behaviour in water-related emergencies.
On average, 400 people drown in the UK each year and another 200 people take their own lives in water.
I see this role as a real opportunity to help those agencies involved in drowning prevention coordinate and advance their activities.
Commenting on his new appointment, he said: “I am honoured to take over this role from Dawn Whittacker of the Fire & Rescue Service who has done a great job with the team at RoSPA. I see this role as a real opportunity to help those agencies involved in drowning prevention coordinate and advance their activities. It will also involve lobbying those in power to recognise and respond to the ever present and devastating threat of drowning. It will be nice to help shape the future of drowning prevention with the production of the next ten year UK Drowning Prevention Strategy in 2026.”
Professor Tipton was also recently awarded the prestigious role of President-Elect by The Physiological Society (TPS). He will begin his one-year appointment in December 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.
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