I took a train to Salford this week for work. Amidst the skirmish about different guidelines on face coverings between Scotland and England, I was interested to see whether there were different behaviours north and south of the border among passengers on the train.

To be honest I didn’t see much difference with most people keeping their masks on during the journey. And when I arrived for my work commitments in Salford these concerns seemed much less important, as the area I was staying in beside Salford Quays was cordoned off by police. A 19-year-old man had drowned in the water after jumping from a nearby bridge with friends to cool off on a hot summer’s day.

I went for a walk along the Quay later that evening. Amidst numerous signs warning that the area wasn’t suitable for swimming, there were two young women with black bin bags clearing dozens of bottles and rubbish from the site. There had clearly been many people there enjoying the good weather, having a drink and becoming too warm, so deciding to go for a swim despite the warning signs. The Quays form part of the Manchester ship canal. I stood near the site where this young man – his whole life ahead of him – had drowned. My son is a similar age and I could only think of the young man’s parents and loved ones.

We have been dealing with one main public health issue over the past 16 months and perhaps paid less attention to the other things that cause preventable loss of life every year. Accidental drowning is one of them. On average 43 people die on our waterways in Scotland every year and July is the month in which these deaths are most likely to happen.

Just this week, the Scottish Fire and Rescue service and other organisations have been highlighting this as part of Bauer Media’s #GetWaterWise campaign. With more people staying at home to holiday in Scotland there is a risk we might see more incidents.

I spoke to Claire Huggins from the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) to understand more about this issue and what we can do to prevent drowning. There have been on average 402 UK and Irish citizens who lost their lives to accidental drownings each year based on a five-year average from 2016-2020. We often think about the dangers of getting into difficulty in the water on our coastlines and beaches and this is a problem, but more people sadly die on inland waterways such as canals and rivers. Deaths from accidental drowning are much more common among males than females. Accidental drowning is most commonly associated with recreational activities such as walking and running near water, swimming and waterside or in water activities. More accidents happen at weekends than weekdays. Although they can occur in any age group, around one in four involve young people aged 16 to 30.

Given the good weather we’ve had in Scotland lately and the advice we are all hearing about doing more outside rather than inside to minimise the spread of Covid-19, there is a risk that more people could get into difficulty in the water this year. There is a lot we can do to prevent these fatalities and to protect ourselves and others.

Practical advice for summer water safety includes planning activities in areas that are supervised and ideally have a lifeguard on duty. Staying near other people and not going too far away from others, including in the water, and if swimming, trying to stay parallel to the shore. Also remembering about water temperature and currents.

It also goes without saying that mixing activities near the water with alcohol or drugs increases risk, affecting decision making and slowing down reaction times. Around one in five accidental drowning deaths in the UK are substance-related.

Claire explained that a common phenomenon that people are not always aware of is cold water shock. Entering the water in our canals and rivers or indeed at the coast involves coming into contact with cold water even in the summer months. This causes a number of involuntary reactions including a gasping reflex which means people can breathe in and swallow water. Cold water shock can also involve vertigo when our ears are covered by cold water and we become disorientated. The cold water also affects our muscles potentially resulting in swim failure where movement is impaired. Cold water shock can also involve a sudden increase in heart and blood pressure that in some cases can result in cardiac arrest. All these features can result in drowning even when someone is an experienced swimmer.

If you do fall into the water accidentally or get into difficulty in the water, the RLSS UK sets out three practical steps to reduce risk. This includes trying to roll onto your back or paddle to stay on the surface, so that your mouth is away from the water and you can get your breathing back under control. Secondly, trying to move towards something to keep you afloat or towards an exit from the water. And finally trying to warm up as soon as you are out of the water, which can help avoid other consequences like hypothermia.

You can find out much more about water safety from the Royal Life Saving Society UK or from Water Safety Scotland on their webpages.

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