RNLI lifeguards get summer ready with intensive casualty care training

Casualty care training is an extended element of becoming a beach lifeguard and is encouraged for all lifeguards to complete to provide the best care to casualties. New recruits can complete three full days of training, each lasting eight hours. Returning lifeguards complete one eight-hour day and one 4-hour day to refresh their skills.

Over the last couple of months, Brighton & Hove RNLI lifeguards have been completing their casualty care courses at Shoreham RNLI lifeboat station, where the sessions are delivered by an expert clinical trainer.

The course is designed to give lifeguards the invaluable knowledge and confidence to provide effective care to casualties until they can be handed over to paramedics or doctors. The course aims to build on basic first-aid principles and focuses on managing pre-hospital care situations. On the course, training covers lifesaving interventions, common injuries and illnesses, as well as immersion and heat-related scenarios.

The course is particularly praised as it provides the opportunity for both hands on practical learning and in-depth theory, ensuring lifeguards can apply their skills quickly and confidently when it matters most.

Emily Lawrence, lifeguard supervisor for Brighton & Hove, said: ‘All of our RNLI lifeguards are trained to a high and professional standard ahead of our beaches opening in Brighton and Hove on the 23 May. Throughout the season lifeguard competencies are regularly assessed to maintain skill and knowledge, allowing our lifeguards to keep the local beaches safer.’

RNLI lifeguards must jump through multiple hoops before they are ready for operational duty. After submitting their application, candidates are invited to attend a swimming test, where they must complete a 400m pool swim in under 7 ½ minutes, the first 200m of which must be completed in under 3 ½ minutes. Successful swimmers then progress to an interview, after which, they will find out if they have secured a place.

Every recruit must then attend a series of inductions where they will cover a range of training topics. Some topics include personal safety, rescue techniques and, depending on the beach, watercrafts. After this, they are ready to patrol the beaches. Lifeguards are encouraged to complete the casualty care training course to develop their learning further.

The rigorous application and training process ensures that our beach lifeguards are committed, competent and fully prepared for any situation that comes their way during the season.

RNLI lifeguards have been keeping our beaches safer since 2001 and have saved 2,165 lives, aided 459,354 people through water rescue, returning lost children and delivering first aid and casualty care. They have responded to 333,330 incidents and carried out more than 48M preventative actions. Last year alone, RNLI lifeguards in the South East of England saved 16 lives, responding to 2,567 incidents and assisting 2,843 people.

Year on year the RNLI’s lifeguard service has grown through working closely with partners and with over 245 beaches across the UK and Channel Islands being patrolled, it’s the largest lifeguard service provider in the UK.

The RNLI is urging anyone visiting the coast this summer to make sure they keep themselves and their families safe by being water smart and following their beach safety advice.

· Visit a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags.

· Check the weather forecast, tide times and read local hazard signage to understand local risks.

· For activities like paddleboarding or kayaking we recommend you wear a wetsuit, as well as a buoyancy aid or lifejacket and carry a means of calling for help in a waterproof pouch and keep it on you. Tell someone what you are doing, where you are going and when you expect to return.

· If you are going open water swimming, use a wetsuit to keep you warm, wear a bright coloured swim hat and take a tow float to store personal items including a phone for emergencies.

· If you fall into the water unexpectedly, FLOAT TO LIVE. Fight your instinct to thrash around, lean back, extend your arms and legs, and Float.

· In an emergency dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

· Pilot beaches in 2001 were in Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth, Caradon and Restormel.

· A preventative action by RNLI lifeguards is any proactive intervention they take to stop an incident from developing before it becomes dangerous.

· This usually means actions such as:

- Advising swimmers to move away from a rip current, rocks, or a hazardous area.

- Asking water users (e.g. paddleboarders, surfers) to reposition for their safety.

- Providing information about changing tides, weather conditions, or beach hazards.

- Redirecting people to the designated bathing zone.

- Stopping unsafe behaviour early—before it escalates into a rescue situation

RNLI media contacts  
For more information please contact Kate Barkley, Communications Placement - South East on [email protected]. Alternatively, please contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789 or [email protected].

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

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