An analysis of health and safety audits of aquatic facilities in Ontario: 2002–2020

Abstract

The risk of drowning in swimming pools is a concern for bathers in Canada. The Aquatic Safety Audit (ASA) is a service provided by the Lifesaving Society (LSS) to assess operations of aquatic facilities in Canada. However, the results of these ASA reports have never been analyzed systematically. We compiled and analyzed ASA reports from 2002 to 2020, received from LSS Ontario, to ascertain the most frequently identified recommendations (i.e., safety deficiencies) and identify trends in the data. A total of 59 ASA reports of aquatic facilities that contained swimming pools (i.e., indoor, outdoor, or both) were examined. The study identified a total of 4,589 recommendations. The general audit category of “Aquatic Facility” (n = 4,000 deficiencies) was more problematic than “Emergency and Operating Procedures” (n = 244), “Personnel” (n = 211), and “Communication” (n = 143). The “deck” subcategory of “Aquatic Facility” had the most deficiencies (n = 1,050). The topmost identified deficiencies were “no medical signs at the entrance points” (n = 37, priority concern) and “inadequate lighting levels” (n = 35, primary recommendation). In our comparative analysis, facilities with at least one outdoor pool and municipally owned facilities were more likely to be associated with safety deficiencies, compared to facilities with indoor pools and nonmunicipally owned facilities (e.g., university, military, private sector). Our study noted that noncompliance and violations of legal requirements were common in aquatic facilities in Ontario. Future studies are suggested to further investigate the poor safety performance of facilities, especially those with outdoor pools or are municipally owned.