Forums » Open clinical » General clinical » Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 6/9/2011 2:49 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 138
First: 25/5/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
I'm still uncomfortable about a lot of this and with what appears to be a 70/30 split on definitely stopping, it would appear I'm not alone. My first point is over this ethical duty to stop. I would argue that if any suggestion be made that any doctor has acted unethically by a professional organisation, this can only be interpreted in a negative light. In the event of serious harm or death occuring to a person and a doctor could be proved not to have stopped, I would suggest that the BMA's edict could succesfully be used to argue some degree of liability by neglect. I would also suggest that this would invalidate any form of professional indemnity, in that the act of driving past in the full knowledge that you were behaving unethically would be a hard postion to defend. This will of course make you personally liable for a professional act in your private life. So can you get sued and become a bankrupt for driving by? I would suggest that a more practical statement be formulated than relying on the vague concepts of ethics. Having now stopped at the scene an interesting thing happens. On the one hand "the white coat goes on" in that you immediately have a duty of care thrust upon you, but on the other hand there is advice not to acknowledge this to the patient. My concern here is that in the event of a death, the Police will want a statement and I have concerns for the reaction of any bereaved relative on learning that the person who stopped was a doctor, but did not say anything. This will end up in a Coroner's Court and your statement will be read. You will be called to attend there in all likelihood. I would fear the vague shadow of a thought of deception creeping into the relative's grief on learning of my true profession and I really don't think that I could satisfactorily explain why I didn't tell them. Far more to be feared, I would suggest, are our own dear colleagues. Kirked has beatifully summarised the scales against which we shall be judged for our actions. "The legal test will be that of the ordinary skilled doctor in all the circumstances present." Now, who shall be put forward to set this? It will not be an ordinary skilled doctor. It will be an expert who will have to painfully lower their expectations to a level that they have no personal knowledge of. As in the simple case of the cyclist outlined above, had I been present, who is not to later suggest that a glass of cold milk should have been called for and any tooth fragments placed in it for safe keeping and possible later surgery. What if an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon were called and asked what an ordinary skilled doctor would do? What if a newly qualified house officer was called. Who will say, "Yes, I would have forgotten too. Yes I don't know that" ? There is an unfortunate quality present in modern medicine best simply summarised by the answer to the question of, "how many doctors does it take to change a lightbulb?" Eleven - one to do it, and ten to stand round and say that they could have done it better. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 9/9/2011 4:29 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 963
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
Thankyou all for your posts. I was flabbergast at the number of views (1185) - it just goes to show what an important topic it is for Doctors of all grades and experience. I will submit further medicolegal questions soon which I hope will be just as interesting and informative. Many thanks, Ed |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 9/9/2011 4:57 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2060
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 24/5/2013 |
Adrian, I would reply to your first point by saying, as I said to another colleague above, that you must make a decison, based on all the circumstances extant, before stopping to help. They were very tired; too tired to take on more responsibility. Many other factors could influence the decision; a very busy road, maybe a contraflow that is still going at 50mph; you can't stop in that! It's one of the many difficult decisions that a doctor has to make, and I don't think that you have a duty to stop, either in ethics or law. So your fear that passing on by makes you liable to legal or professional sanction is unfounded. It is when you do stop, and declare yourself as a doctor, or even a First Aider, that you acquire that duty of care. But again, I don't think, and I think kerked's posts above indicate, that if you possess some minimum skills then you can fulfill that duty in an exemplary manner. Advanced expertise is not required or expected in someone who stops to render first aid, nor is it necessary! As I said above, Adult Basic Life Support is that minimum in this situation, an invaluable and life saving minimum! One that, sad to say, is far from universal in the general public, let alone among doctors. So if you can't do ABLS, drive on by! Go to, not jail, but the soonest ABLS training session at work and learn! John |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 9/9/2011 5:14 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 963
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 24/5/2013 |
I concur with John D above: There is no law that says that you must stop and help someone in distress. Driving on by would not render you a court summons. Your Medical ethics group might however suggest there is a moral duty but, again it is not subject to punitive measures. If a Doctor stops to help it may be that all he can do is comfort an injured person, he/she may be able to arrest haemmorhage with direct pressure, or keep a C spine aligned etc. Your suggestion that a Doctor might be punished for not putting broken teeth in milk is absurd. No Court would consider that to be remotely important if the patient is being resuscitated by you or you are unable to so anything bexause life is extinct!. A Doctor should know how to perform Basic Life Support - if he/she cannot then I believe they should be ashamed of themselves. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 10/9/2011 1:30 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 579
First: 8/6/2011 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Ha ha ha! I think that the teath was the less important problem here!... ( I remember my uncle before many years had been atacked by a herd of wasps , after these he had only the power to call on the telephon my mother saying to harry up becouse he is dying and fell unconsious. She arived fast together with an old cardiologist. The problem was that the doctor couldn t open the mouth! So mon took a spoon and took of all the front teeths of my uncle and opened his mouth! know we are laughing when we remember of these. Irrelevant but i did remembered these now reading about teaths) |
Forums » Open clinical » General clinical » Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
