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Off-Duty Manchester Lifeguard Who Saved Toddler in River Rescue Returns to Work
09 Sep 2020
East Manchester Leisure Centre’s Duty Manager Susan McDonald has used her life-saving skills, learned on the job, to save a three-year-old from drowning.
The incident came ahead of another bank holiday weekend in England, with many families heading to coasts and rivers to enjoy the last of the summer, ahead of a return to school.
Little Hayaa had lost her footing and fallen into the River Lune in Lancashire at the popular beauty spot The Crook O’Lune while out with her family on a day trip on 7 August. Susan, who was nearby, jumped straight into the river, swimming against the current to perform a textbook rescue and save the young girl’s life.
Susan said: “Like the other visitors that day, we’d gone to the river to make the most of the good weather and I was sunbathing when I heard someone saying there was a baby in the river.
“I could just see a bundle in the water, so I swam to her. She was face down and unconscious, so I turned her over and performed five rescue breaths in the water before bringing her back to the riverbank. There, I, and another of her family group who is a doctor, performed two cycles of CPR while my sister called an ambulance.
“Thankfully, she came to before the ambulance arrived. The emergency services said only one in 10 would survive an incident like that due to the temperature of the water and time she had been in there. She was also approaching a dangerous bend in the river with rocks and currents.”
Hayaa was taken to hospital for medical checks and returned home three days later none the worse for her ordeal.
Susan has taken time off to recuperate as the magnitude of her actions sunk in. But has returned to work this week and visited Hayaa’s family to see how they were getting on and to receive their good wishes and thanks.
“It seems like a miracle to me now. My lasting image was of her on the riverbank unconscious in my arms. Then to see her playing and looking completely normal was amazing.”
“Undoubtedly my RLSS UK training saved the day. We are all trained in the NPLQ so are fully prepared for rescues – but in the workplace, in a pool with colleagues around to support. The difference in my situation was I performed the rescue on my own. With the CPR I acted on instinct really, on autopilot. For our training we practice once a month on a dummy so performing the compressions and rescue breaths came as second nature.”
Haaya’s father Anas said: “It was a great thing Susan did. Only two of the family can swim well and we were very nervous of getting in the water. Swimming and lifesaving are important, and we are very lucky Susan was there. Hayaa is at home and safe now, and we are all trying to put the incident behind us.”
Earlier in the summer, RLSS UK warned that a ‘Perfect Storm’ of warm weather, closed leisure facilities and nowhere for children to learn to swim, could lead to a summer peak in drownings – which annually take the lives of around 700 people in the UK, as well as leaving many others with life changing injuries.
And as the pandemic kyboshed many Britons’ foreign holiday plans, many sought UK staycations by the coast, rivers and lakes, leading to overcrowding on un-lifeguarded beaches due to a funding shortfall experienced by RNLI, on top of COVID-19-related safety issues.
Municipal leisure centres and swimming pools are provided in Manchester by MCR Active. School swimming lessons will resume in MCR Active-operated pools from mid-September.
Concerns had been raised during Drowning Prevention Week (June) that COVID-19 would result in a ‘lost generation’ of swimmers, as pupils missed their final term of mandatory swimming lessons. This would have led to them failing to meet the required target of being able to swim 25m unaided – a crucial life skill - because drowning is the third highest cause of death amongst children in the UK.
Manchester Partnership Manager, Ian Harkins said: “MCR’s leisure staff are all trained regularly in life saving skills with refresher sessions each month. This incident – outside of work – shows just how invaluable that training is.
“We applaud Susan McDonald for her selfless actions which undoubtedly saved little Hayaa’s life.”
Royal Life Saving Society UK, CEO, Robert Gofton added: “Susan’s actions were heroic and prevented the sort of tragedy that we hear about all too often. Over 40,000 pool lifeguards achieve our qualifications each year and, the skills they learn are not only vital for protecting the public in their working life but can be applied in lifesaving situations at any time, as Susan proved.
“Ahead of this bank holiday weekend, we are urging people to enjoy being in, on or around water, safely. Please take care, stay safe and protect our emergency services, and if you are not familiar with lifesaving skills, why not visit our website for free and simple tips to protect your family and friends. “
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