Safety cameras for Clickimin swimmers
Adam Guest
Special cameras are to be installed at the Clickimin swimming pool for the safety of swimmers.
A combination of underwater and surface cameras will send images to four screens at lifeguarding positions poolside.
Shetland Recreational Trust said the images will be monitored as part of routine duties, and be protected and managed in accordance with the data protection act.
The cameras are scheduled to “go live” when the pool re-opens on 29th January following the maintenance closure.
The technology has been approved by SRT trustees as an additional health and safety measure.
There will be no change to the number of lifeguards poolside.
SRT general manager James Johnston, said: “The safety of swimmers in our facilities is paramount, and technology is evolving all the time to aid lifeguards in carrying out their duties.
“We carried out a series of tests at all the pools in the Clickmin Leisure Complex earlier this year which identified a number of issues, in particular the amount of glare in the main pool.
“When we reported back to trustees, they instructed us to find a way to eliminate these small risks and we believe the cameras are the best and most cost-effective solution.”
He added: “This technology will not replace any lifeguards – it is there as a tool to help our lifeguards do their jobs.”
SRT chairman Bryan Leask said: “As trustees, we have a moral as well as a legal duty to ensure that people using our facilities are as safe as possible.
“Staff and trustees were impressed when they saw demonstrations of how the cameras would further enhance the safety of swimmers. They effectively give our lifeguards an extra pair of eyes.”
Mr Johnston said the cameras would not be installed at any of the SRT’s other facilities, only the pool within the Clickimin Leisure Complex.
The underwater cameras will be installed in the main pool and the surface cameras around the river area.
Lesley Turner
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/01/2
The camera have saved lives already, although for dignity’s sake, I would not use a pool where they had been installed.
Haydn Gear
I find Lesley Turner’s comment hard to understand.Should she be unlucky enough to suffer a heart attack, stroke etc am I to understand that her dignity would not allow her to be rescued from the water , preferring instead to be left to drown? She has already agreed that cameras have been used to good effect so why would she choose to become the late Lesley Turner when the technology exists to enable her life to continue? I don’t get it.