Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
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Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
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Picture it, its dark and you come across a road accident. No emergency services are present. Would you give emergency assistance?, would you worry about being sued?
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Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
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Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 8:57 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1012
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 15/6/2013 |
Picture it, its dark and you come across a road accident. No emergency services are present. Would you give emergency assistance?, would you worry about being sued? |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 10:44 AM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 1492
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 18/6/2013 |
Response from Twitter:  MishraBijay bijay mishra @doc2doc that depands on people's mood. For people who r not aggresive I'll offer assistance. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 1:00 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 149
First: 25/5/2011 Last: 14/6/2013 |
It would be indefensible at every level for a health professional not to call the emergency services at the very least. Beyond that, I believe, for each doctor it is an individual choice. If you have no equipment: no gloves, no dressings, no i.v. fluids, no neck collar, spinal board etc., just what it is that you are expected to do? Having once had to stand there for an eternity while a man screamed in agony due to a compound fractured tibia with no i.m. analgesic available for me to give him is not a professional experience that I would wish for any of my colleagues to ever have to endure. If he had arrested in hypovolaemic shock, what then could I have done? However much knowledge we like to believe we keep in our heads, without equipment we are virtually useless in these situations. The best assistance that most of us could offer when off-duty, I would suggest, is to ring 999 and help direct traffic to keep the scene safe until emergency services arrive. On the question of being sued, I would argue that provided you act as a responsible member of the public you are fine. I don't think any of our colleagues would suggest that we are obliged to do tracheotomies with bits of torn metal and biros, nor attempt to defibrillate with jump leads and a car battery or skillfully wrap newspaper around damaged necks to support them in an overturned vehicle. Anything beyond the most basic first aid is simply unrealistic in my view. Call 999! |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 1:57 PM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 695
First: 17/11/2008 Last: 11/6/2013 |
I remember stopping at the side of a cyclist who had been knocked down by a car and feeling completely useless, There was a hospital about five minutes run away and I wanted to scoop him up and take him there but clearly this would not have been the right thing to do. He was unconsious and had a head injury but had a pulse. I had no equipment on me. I couldn't even tell how old he was because he just looked grey. When the ambulance arrived what struck me was how good they were at talking to him and trying to reassure him whereas I had been preoccupied with what I didn't have. Turned out he was 15 and died after a neurosurger attempt to save him. Still can't drive past the spot without an internal shiver. Then last week on holiday in France I passed a woman who had dropped to the ground and was surrounded by people. I was with my children and thought should I stop (not done any clinical medicine for a million years and oh I can't speak Frence except to order a glass of wine) or walk on? So I hovered. My husband didn't get how hard it was for me to just walk on but while I was dithering a wonderful ambulance turned up and I was so relieved. It felt almost criminal not to intervene but I might have done more harm than good and frightened the woman to bits. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 3:57 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 478
First: 15/11/2008 Last: 21/8/2012 |
Does it really matter if you are off duty? Would you ask the same question of a life guard who was going on a walk and saw someone struggling in the sea? Oh no, not today as I forgot my speedos and floatation aid! I would say that the only questions that key questions to be asked are: 1. Is it safe for me to stop? Middle of a motorway, potentially agressive people around etc 2. What assistance can I or shall I offer? Sometimes just knowing someone else is there with you and you have not been left lying at a road side is comfort enough to know help is or could be on its way. Your not expected to pull out your doctors toolbag. Surely the knowledge inside your head should be of great assistance to assessing the patient and if possible making it more comfortable for them. 3. What if this was me of someone I know? What would i want others to do. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 5:43 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1012
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 15/6/2013 |
All the above comments are really interesting. But, there seems to be a huge focus on equipment and seemingly people think Doctors are of no use without the right tools. Surely as a human being a Doctor whether on or off duty can talk to another human in distress and in need of reassurance. Certainly having a full Trauma kit would be great provided the Doctor knows how to use it and has experience. A Doctor can assist the paramedics in many ways, even if it is just holding an IV bag aloft. A Doctor (or lay person) is capable of putting direct or indirect pressure onto bleeding sites or hold a c spine in line. It is extremely rare for a Doctor to be sued when 'off duty' for assisting at the roadside unless he/she acted foolishly and cause harm to the patient. The Doctor is judged as a reasonable Medical Doctor acting in the particular circumstances. That is not an excessively high level to be judged upon. There are many 'stories' that circulate about Doctors and Nurses being sued when they have stopped to assist at the roadside, 99% are nonsense. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 31/8/2011 7:05 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 149
First: 25/5/2011 Last: 14/6/2013 |
In Response to Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?: A Doctor can assist the paramedics in many ways, even if it is just holding an IV bag aloft. A Doctor (or lay person) is capable of putting direct or indirect pressure onto bleeding sites or hold a c spine in line. Posted by kirked Hang on! A moment ago it was dark and we were on our own. When did the ambulance arrive? To get to the bleeding area usually means exposing the wound - people are usually dressed when they drive. You need to get into the usually distorted vehicle, cut the clothing open - you need strong scissors and you need a good light - the scenario here is in darkness- and you then need to then have something pretty substantial to press on the wound - take your shirt off . You have no gloves and there's likely to be significant trauma. The patient will have a seat belt in the way and is likely to be in a seated position with body crumple pressing in on them. You need help. I used to talk to the fire crews when I worked in AED and extraction and stabilisation is not a simple matter. If we're discussing the principle of stopping, I stand by my previous post. If we're discussing the practicalities I would reiterate that without equipment, your best intervention is still to ring 999. |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 1/9/2011 7:34 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2135
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 18/6/2013 |
What an extraordinary range of responses! |
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Re: Would you stop at a road accident and offer assistance when off duty?
posted at 1/9/2011 11:19 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1012
First: 15/7/2011 Last: 15/6/2013 |
When I put this question for discussion I anticipated that most doctors would stop and assist as best they could. But, I was surprised and a bit disappointed to read comments to the effect that unless one had a full trauma kit in the boot then there was nothing to be done. Rightly John D puts a sensible perspective on the scenario. As a Lawyer specialising in Medical cases and representing Healthcare Professionals I rather suspected that perhaps some would have reservations about giving aid because of a perceived risk of being sued - reassuringly few seem to be overly concerned provided the Doctor does not cause further harm. I will be very curious to see the poll result. |
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