Any First Aiders here - would you help somebody in trouble?

[Minstadave]

The fireman ended up giving her mouth to mouth as she wasn't breathing. unbeknown to him, she had choked on something and he just managed to lodge it further down her wind pipe. No charges were ever made against him, it was an accident he was trying to help. There's no risk of anyone being sued for trying to help, but you do have to live with the consequences if things go wrong.

Nothing wrong with giving mouth to mouth if someone has choked anyway. If you can't remove the foreign body by Heimlich/back blows and they keel over the next step is to give mouth to mouth and chest compressions. If you force the foreign body down out of the trachea (where it's blocking air to both lungs) you can push it towards one lung allowing you to inflate the other.

http://www.resus.org.uk/pages/achkalgo.pdf

 

[Jambo]

I'm not first aid trained but I know I would be scared of doing something wrong. However, if I was the only/best option I absolutely would help.

PLUS.... the prospect of getting sued would make no difference to me. I'd rather save (or attempt to save) someone's life and get sued than watch them die.

 

[tom_nieto]

Help if it's safe to do so. I wouldn't run into a burning car wreck to stabilise someone's airway and administer first aid. As a medic it's extremely humbling to step back and think how little you can actually do without equipment and staff in a hospital. Making sure an ambulance turns up is more important than jumping up and down on their chest in the first instance.

Where you are in the world is important as to what you have to do if you're a medical professional. In France you have to help by law. In the UK you wouldn't get prosecuted for not helping. My solution is to drink on planes! Ground control would probably advise you to take your seat rather than be the drunk Samaritan. Touch wood I haven't had to divert a plane yet...

 

[godinman]

It's a very sad fact of the times we're now living in I'm afraid. My OH has medical qualifications and she's always said the same - there's no way she'd help anyone out of the blue other than to comfort them or dial for emergency services.

Not one single person in the UK has been successfully sued for trying to give first aid to a person.

 

[Schizo]

Been a First aider with wallace and cameron for 10 year's,i would like to think i could help someone if ever the situation arises,a lot of people worry about forgetting there training but im sure it will all come back to you if someone was in trouble.

Also had the training for the defibrillator and baby first aid (children of a very young age)

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

I do hope she isn't a trained doctor with those qualifications, as she has a duty to interfere where her safety is not risked.
It is part of the oath.
It is part of your liability cover.

If you do not act or drive past an accident or do not at least try you can face the GMC.

Thats interesting! can you post me a link to that please? Is it the same for the NMC? a colleague of mine told me several months ago that, if she is off duty (and not in uniform ie not just walking to from her car in her uniform) she would not intervene other than call for help as she could get sued.

I think the real question should be, would one of the family bring in the correct toiletries once they found out they were in the hospital?

I actually thought you were a mature intelligent poster I am beginning to doubt that now

 

[pitchfork]

I'm not a first aider and I used to help people, I used to work alone except for a few students in the library (night shift), occasionally someone would come in with a minor injury and it's common sense what the various bits of first aid kit do or when to tell them to go to A&E or call an ambulance.

I don't think it really requires any great deal of training, years ago people didn't think "oh I might be sued" or "I'm not insured because I didn't pay for training", they just helped.

 

[Sho]

If someone was in need of those skills, and I stood by and did nothing, then the guilt would plague me for the rest of my days I fear.

This.

 

[Minstadave]

Thats interesting! can you post me a link to that please? Is it the same for the NMC? a colleague of mine told me several months ago that, if she is off duty (and not in uniform ie not just walking to from her car in her uniform) she would not intervene other than call for help as she could get sued.

My understanding is the only person with a duty of care to act outside of their normal job role is a GP in the community in which they work.

This explains it better than I can:

http://www.themdu.com/press-centre/press-releases/good-samaritan-acts-under-the-spotlight

The GMC says:

"In an emergency, wherever it arises, you must offer assistance, taking account of your own safety, your competence, and the availability of other options for care."

 

[Resident]

This link might help:

http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/dutyofcare/

I trained in first aid in my last job and we were told specifically that we were not to use our training unless we were at work and clocked in.

 

[AmyS]

Thats interesting! can you post me a link to that please? Is it the same for the NMC? a colleague of mine told me several months ago that, if she is off duty (and not in uniform ie not just walking to from her car in her uniform) she would not intervene other than call for help as she could get sued.

I find that so bizarre though to be honest, regarding your colleague.
Being sued would be the last thing on my mind if I saw a person in trouble, it would be in my nature as a human being and then as a nurse to help where I could.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

The GMC says:

"In an emergency, wherever it arises, you must offer assistance, taking account of your own safety, your competence, and the availability of other options for care."

This is what I was alluding to, but couldn't find the quote.

The key point being "assistance". I'm sure you (not you personally) could get away with offering basic first aid or simple advice, if you didn't want to play an active role.

I'm thinking of perhaps a medical professional stops at the scene of an accident, to discover someone with massive head trauma. Although by title they could be a doctor, they may be Consultant rheumatologist and not equipped to deal with the situation.

I know from a previous role, the company I worked for had a serious accident where someone's head got caved in by a sheet of glass and there's not a lot of "first aid" you can offer besides checking for danger, a response and sounding the alarm for urgent help (999). The 3 first aiders on shift essentially weren't equipped with the situation and the chap in the role that I replaced froze due to the nature of the injury.

 

[G|mp]

I actually thought you were a mature intelligent poster I am beginning to doubt that now

Why on earth would you ever think that?

Apart from your Nursey thread I don't think I've ever conversed with you? I tend to avoid your great threads tbh.

 

[DJMK4]

If I was a dedicated first aider, of course I would, I would do anything to help, I would like to think that if I was the injured one, I would not like it if someone who was trained to carry out first aid, just walked by and dismissed me.

I am not trained, but I have assisted once or twice outside in public, someone hurt themselves falling, another guy collapsed, thought he was having a heart attack, someone else phoned for the ambulence whilst we checked him over, luckily after checking his airway, breathing etc we found him breathing but he was struggling, after further examination we couldn't see any signs of him having an attack, we put him in the recovery position and re-positioned his head to help him breath a bit easier, as we did I noticed something in his pocket, turned out to be an inhailor, the guy was having a huge asthma attack, gave him a few shots until the ambulance arrived who them got him on the oxygen tanks.

 

[Monkeh]

You would think that first aid training and cover in our schools would be top notch but no. My eldest had an accident at school, kids will be kids and all that but they ended up with a fracture - the schools response was to call us like they'd just tripped in the yard and put an ice pack on the fracture. No paramedics called, apparently this is standard practice unless the teachers are convinced the child has suffered a life threatening injury.

My post is deliberately vague in case those involved read here, but any respect for the teaching profession died within me that day. The fact they can forgo common sense or compassion for the sake of written policy astounded me.

 

[scorza]

This seems like a stupid question because why be a First Aider in the first place if you're not willing to put it to use?

Maybe they just want to help people they care about?

 

[postbox]

I would definitely help where I can. As for people in their profession, My GF along with her friends (all nurses) have all acted off duty in various situations, from people fainting and seizures to cardiac arrests - guess what? no-one got sued. Shame on anyone who didn't even react to a situation like that.

 

[AmyS]

You would think that first aid training and cover in our schools would be top notch but no. My eldest had an accident at school, kids will be kids and all that but they ended up with a fracture - the schools response was to call us like they'd just tripped in the yard and put an ice pack on the fracture. No paramedics called, apparently this is standard practice unless the teachers are convinced the child has suffered a life threatening injury.

My post is deliberately vague in case those involved read here, but any respect for the teaching profession died within me that day. The fact they can forgo common sense or compassion for the sake of written policy astounded me.

I was knocked unconscious at high school after being kicked off a step and hit the back of my head on the concrete floor.

I was picked up and helped into the Headmaster's office where he phoned my dad at work to come and pick me up.

 

[davido_labido]

You would think that first aid training and cover in our schools would be top notch but no. My eldest had an accident at school, kids will be kids and all that but they ended up with a fracture - the schools response was to call us like they'd just tripped in the yard and put an ice pack on the fracture. No paramedics called, apparently this is standard practice unless the teachers are convinced the child has suffered a life threatening injury.

My post is deliberately vague in case those involved read here, but any respect for the teaching profession died within me that day. The fact they can forgo common sense or compassion for the sake of written policy astounded me.

well, urm, yes. thats what ambulances are for, life threatening injuries, generally a fracture isnt, if its a serious break then again, an ambulance would be required.

if your child just fractured any other bone except spine, neck or skull, id just send him to A&E too, usually with some emergency point of contact, like his parents or family friend. Im not sure why you would expect an ambulance to be called (unless of course it was a head, neck or spinal injury as mentioned)