RNLI holds young adult water safety course for Plymouth students
The University of Plymouth has collaborated with the RNLI, Swim England and Plymouth Active Leisure to teach students how to stay safe in the water.The RNLI held a young adult water safety programme in May teaching students how to call for help correctly and how to use a throwline.That was followed up by an open water swimming session at Tinside Cove which was run by Swim England and Plymouth Active Leisure.Viddhi Chhadva, a postgraduate student who cannot swim, said: "I loved it and definitely feel more confident and I would like to learn how to swim now."
Digital and social media student Grace Uwe added: "I felt it was essential to have some experience and know the basics of saving myself in the water."I feel like I've learnt how to stay safe and I'm planning to do more swimming lessons now."
Associate director of student support at the University of Plymouth Steve Gaskin said the sessions had been important to teach students "how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe" in the water."This event was an exciting opportunity for students of all swimming abilities to learn more about the open water and we are very grateful to the RNLI, Swim England and Plymouth Active Leisure for their support in delivering it," he said.The single piece of advice which the RNLI has urged the students and the wider public to remember and share is: "If you find yourself struggling in water, float to live".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The devastating mystery gripping the heir of Blenheim Palace and his desperate family - and the film star battling abuse trauma: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY
Mystery at Blenheim Palace: Heir's dog vanishes He's blessed with a glamorous wife, two wonderful young daughters – and will, one day, inherit Blenheim Palace, arguably the most sumptuous family seat in Britain, plus its 12,000-acre estate. But never assume that the Marquess of Blandford, the 12th Duke of Marlborough's son and heir, is immune to the trials and tribulations that can afflict us all. George Spencer-Churchill's young labrador, Gecko, went missing at the weekend. Perhaps even more disquietingly, she remains unaccounted for, even though there was a tracker in her distinctive pink collar. This allowed Gecko's movements to be traced to the northernmost part of Woodstock, the Oxfordshire town near Blenheim. That was shortly before 2pm on Sunday. But thereafter the trail ran cold – prompting George, 32, and his wife Camilla, 38, both pictured, to seek assistance from the police, who have issued a public appeal in a bid to find Gecko. There is another element which adds to their heartache. I understand that, at the time Gecko disappeared, she was in the care of a trusted third party. Friends and family have been putting up posters alerting locals. 'If someone has stolen her, then people will have read about her,' one tells me. George certainly won't be daunted by the challenge. In 2019, he and two of his wife's cousins rowed across the Atlantic in 35 days, securing themselves a Guinness World Record for the 'fastest time for a related team of four to row the Atlantic east to west'. I profoundly hope that the Spencer-Churchill motto – 'faithful but unfortunate' – does not hold true for Gecko. George and Camilla Blandford attending the Blenheim by Starlight charity ball in 2019 Blandford's post appealing for help finding his missing golden labrador Fry's latest field of study? Wrestling... SIR Stephen Fry has a surprising new passion. The Cambridge-educated polymath, 67, and former Marylebone Cricket Club president has become obsessed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). 'I am now a fan of WWE and I bought a couple of tickets for Wrestlemania in Las Vegas,' reveals Fry, a friend of King Charles. 'I said that to some people and they've said, 'Doesn't he know it's fake?' and I go, 'Oh, for heaven's sake!' It isn't fake in the sense that they are banging on and doing things to their bodies which are astonishing for entertainment. They are bloody talented.' Konnichiwa! Lily takes Tokyo trip A previous trip to Japan didn't run smoothly for Lily James after she was wrongly accused of mocking the local accent. Happily, this hasn't deterred the former Downton Abbey star from embracing the country's culture. The Surrey-born actress, 36, took part in a Japanese tea ceremony in the capital, which involves preparing, serving and drinking tea to promote wellbeing, mindfulness and harmony. She wore a traditional kimono with a floral print. 'I love Tokyo,' she said next to photographs shared online. Lily James in Tokyo A rare sighting in ermine of former prime minister David Cameron, who was one of two official 'supporters' as former attorney general Victoria Prentis became a member of the Lords on Monday. One onlooker reports that Lord Cameron, who has yet to make a speech in the house this year, is now sporting an increasingly obvious bald patch. Don't expect to catch a glimpse of Michel Roux Jr at your local drive-through. 'I don't do takeaways,' the chef tells me. 'My last McDonald's was in October 1989 and my first and last KFC in 1976.' Clearly the dates stuck in the memory of Roux, 65, whose two Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Le Gavroche closed last year. Film helped Jaime deal with trauma Jaime Winstone has revealed that starring in a film about childhood trauma has dredged up memories of abuse she suffered in the past. The daughter of Hollywood hardman Ray Winstone, 68, appears in the psychological horror Everyone Is Going To Die. 'The film gave me the opportunity to creatively purge from a trauma,' says the actress, 40, who played the young Peggy Mitchell in TV soap EastEnders and Dame Barbara Windsor in biopic Babs. 'I was triggered from a trauma. There was a lot of stuff happening to do with a certain person that I have dealt with, with abuse.' Fans can't tell who's Hugh Griff Rhys Jones has a problem. The television personality can't go anywhere without being mistaken for Hugh Grant – who is seven years his junior. 'I've just come back from the States,' Griff, 71, says. 'Nearly every day somebody would come, because there was a camera around, and ask for an autograph, assuming I was Hugh.' Griff says of the Four Weddings And A Funeral star: 'I haven't told him directly. I've only met him once in the last five years, and he very sweetly said, 'And what do you do these days?' 'I said, 'Well, I'm still in television, Hugh, what about you?' ' Touche. The television personality can't go anywhere without being mistaken for the Four Weddings and a Funeral star – who is seven years his junior.
Sky News
16 minutes ago
- Sky News
AI foot scanner recognises warning signs of heart failure to keep people out of hospital, researchers say
A foot scanner that uses AI to recognise the warning signs of heart failure could be used at home to keep people out of hospital, researchers have said. The device takes and analyses almost 2,000 pictures a minute, in a similar manner to facial recognition, to calculate the level of fluid in the feet and ankles. Such water retention, known as oedema, is one of three major warning signs heart failure is becoming more severe and potentially life threatening. The AI scanner is roughly the size of a smart speaker and can alert healthcare professionals so they can take action, such as increasing the patient's medication. The device, developed by Cambridge-based start-up Heartfelt Technologies, is mounted to the wall and typically installed at a patient's bedside. It automatically takes 1,800 pictures a minute of the foot and lower leg and multiple angles, only scanning the legs to a height of 50cm off the floor, and then uses AI to calculate the level of fluid they contain. It also works without wifi. The Foot Study, which is being presented at the British Cardiovascular Society annual conference in Manchester, suggests the alerts come 13 days before a person would end up in hospital. It used the AI device to monitor 26 heart failure patients from five NHS trusts who were enrolled between 2020 and 2022 and asked them to weigh themselves using Bluetooth-enabled scales. Seven instances of worsening heart failure were detected in six patients, while one death from the condition was recorded. Researchers found in patients enrolled in the study for at least two weeks before an alert was triggered, the average lead time before hospital admission was 13 days. The lead time averaged eight days when all five triggers picked up by the device were analysed. The study also found monitoring using scales failed to predict any heart failure-related hospital admissions, with researchers suggesting this was because patients struggled to stick to tracking their weight, whereas the AI device did not require any action. The early warning provided by the device could allow specialist staff to react quickly to changes in a patient's condition, potentially allowing them to stay out of hospital. Dr Philip Keeling, senior author of the study and a consultant cardiologist at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Only about half of people admitted to hospital with heart failure currently get assigned an early review by a heart failure nurse who can check to see if they are suffering a harmful build-up of fluid because their heart is not working properly. "Amid a shortage of heart failure nurses, a device like this can be like a virtual nurse, tracking people's health." Heart failure is a long-term condition where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly, typically because it has become too weak or stiff, and is estimated to affect 920,000 people in the UK. The three main symptoms indicating the condition is getting worse are increased breathlessness, weight gain and swelling in the legs or ankles. Discussing the findings, Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "This small study suggests a simple device could significantly improve outcomes for at-risk patients with heart failure by keeping them out of hospital. "This study is a good example of how technology might aid earlier interventions and treatment, by allowing people to track a key sign of their heart health at home."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Doctor warns of 'highly toxic' effect of popular natural remedy - after it puts toddler in a coma
Ingesting tea tree oil could result in life-threatening organ damage, seizures and even a coma, a GP has warned. According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a UK based doctor, swallowing tiny amounts of the essential oil can result in serious poisoning 'within a minute'. In an Instagram video that has so far been viewed over 2.1million times, Dr Mezher explained the risks in response to a video of a young boy who ended up in a coma after swallowing it. Dr Mezher said: 'Swallowing tea tree oil can be highly toxic due to its potent chemical composition, which includes terpinen-4-ol, cineole, and other volatile compounds.' Terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant compound in tea tree oil—extracted from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree—which posses antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. However when ingested, the oil can rapidly affect the nervous system, leading to drowsiness, loss of coordination and seizures. In 2022 alone, the US poison control centre treated more than 2,200 cases of toxicity linked to tea tree oil. 'One of them was a 23-month-old boy who drank just 10mls which put him in a coma for five hours until he thankfully recovered,' Dr Mezher explained. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sermed Mezher (@drsermedmezher) He added that its supposed benefits for skin health may also be bogus. 'Tree oil has been sold as a miracle cure to multiple skin conditions, and yet there's very little evidence that it works,' he said. A 2023 study found that tea tree oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that helped treat teenage and adult acne—though researchers cautioned it was not possible to draw conclusions on its safety. The poison control centre treated twice as many cases of toxicity caused by tea tree oil compared to any other essential oil, including cinnamon, clove and eucalyptus oil. 'I don't know about you, but I am not keeping this at home,' Dr Mezher cautioned. As well as attacking the nervous system, ingesting the 'horrifically toxic' product can also irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 'Tea tree oil is also harsh on the liver,' Dr Mezher added. 'The body struggles to metabolise its toxic components, potentially leading to organ damage with repeated or high-dose exposure.' 'Because tea tree oil absorbs quickly into the bloodstream, poisoning symptoms can appear within minutes to a few hours. 'If ingestion occurs, immediate medical attention is essential to prevent serious complications.' The NHS warns against trying to make someone who has swallowed something poisonous and is unconscious sick, and recommends instead putting them in the recovery position until an ambulance arrives. Tea tree oil, a common ingredient in many skincare products, has previously been linked to a number of superbug infections including MRSA—a type of bacteria that is resistant to treatment and causes life-threatening infection. US scientists discovered that repeated low-dose use of the essential oil made the MRSA bacteria, as well as and salmonella, more resistant to antibiotics. Professor David McDowell, from the University of Ulster, warned that people who use tea tree oil on their skin repeatedly to treat acne, could be 'stressing' the bacteria on the skin rather than killing it—increasing their resistance to antibiotics. 'Although tea tree oil may be an effective antimicrobial agent when appropriately used at high concentrations, its application at low concentrations may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens,' he warned.
